Bajaj does a flip-flop, now endorses Tata

KOLKATA: Pro-Mamata on Sunday. Pro-Tata on Monday. That's how Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj reacted to the fast-paced developments on the Singur front.

A day after endorsing Mamata Banerjee's Singur agitation as a fight for farmers' rights, the straight-talking Bajaj on Monday appeared to back Tata Motors' contention that relocation of key vendors from the project site could affect the viability of an automobile venture. "It is a norm in the automobile industry that tier-I vendors should be as nearby as possible to the main unit for keeping freight, logistics and operational costs low," Bajaj told TOI from Pune. "In Bajaj Auto's own case, when we took land at Chakhan (Maharashtra) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), it included that (land) which would be used by our main suppliers," he added.

Incidentally, land allotted to Honda Siel Cars India Ltd for its new manufacturing facility in Rajasthan includes contiguous space earmarked for key vendors. Bajaj — whose two-wheelers may face competition from Tata Motors' Nano - dismissed speculation that he had a role to play in the Singur agitation. "I am fed up of hearing these things. Ratan (Tata) is a dear friend of mine. And anyone who knows me, is aware that I don't pay a dime to anybody. Why should I pay anything to Mamata?" he said.

However, Bajaj, a former CII president, said the Singur episode held out a message for land acquisitions being made for industry anywhere in India. "Industry should now learn the lesson that in future, irrespective of whether the land has been acquired by government, they should make sure that the original landowner had sold the plot willingly," he said.

Bajaj's views were echoed by another old hand in the automobile business, Wartsila India chairman Subodh Bhargava.

9 Sep 2008, 0150 hrs IST,

Sumali Moitra,

TIMES OF INDIA

Start operations in Singur, Bengal govt urges Tatas

KOLKATA- West Bengal government has asked Tata Motors to start operations at its small car manufacturing unit and reassured that no land would be taken out of the company's main plant in Singur or from areas earmarked for its ancillary units for giving to landlosers.

"We have assured the Tatas again that no land will be taken out of the project area and the state government wants Nano car to roll out from Singur," state Commerce and Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said in an interview to a private TV channel. To a question Sen said, the government had never agreed to the opposition Trinamool Congress's demand made during the bilateral talks at Raj Bhavan on Sunday that it should part with the Tata small car project land to the land losers. "We have agreed to explore the possibility of identifying and locating as much land available in the area for giving it to those affected by the land acquisition," he said adding there was a patch of land under the custody of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation.

Expressing hope that opposition parties would appreciate the "gravity of the situation" if the Tatas pulled out of the project in view of the disruption, Sen said in the interview "I appeal to all to facilitate the Tatas to restart the operations at the Singur plant peacefully and smoothly." Responding to the anxiety expressed by the Tatas about the reported parting of land in the project area as claimed by the opposition after Sunday's talks, he exhorted the opposition not to campaign in a way which would prevent the Tatas from restarting work. Sen said the government has assured Tata Motors that land in the project would be kept intact and the company would have no difficulty in restarting work.

Asked about the possibility of Tata shifting to Pantnagar in Uttarakhand, the Minister said it would be 'utterly unfortunate' for West Bengal. "We strongly believe that congenial atmosphere will prevail in the Singur project area and the opposition will fully cooperate with the government and the Tatas in ensuring that the Nano car roll out from West Bengal becomes a reality." West Bengal government was doing its best to pave the way for restart of the plant operations, he said.

Sen's comments came in response to the concern expressed by Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant about the opposition's claims that part of the project land would be taken as per the understanding reached at in Sunday's meeting chaired by Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi. Kant had sought a clarification from the state government about the agreement.

The state government had yesterday said there would not be any change in the Tata Motors' Singur plant, nor any relocation of the vendors' park. "There will not be any change in the Tata project, nor any relocation of vendors' park," Sen had told reporters in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee at the state secretariat. Sen had said the Nano plant and vendor's park are an integrated project "and it is a very important issue".

TIMES OF INDIA

9 Sep 2008, 1405 hrs IST,PTI

Agreement between Tata Motors Ltd., Government of West Bengal and WBIDC

1. Tata Motors Ltd. (TML) was intending to set up a manufacturing Plant for
Automobile Products including “Tata Small Car” to manufacture 250,000 cars
per annum on 2 shift basis which could be expanded to 350,000 on 3 shift basis.
In addition, it would have several Vendors and act as a mother plant for many
aggregates to tune of 500,000 cars. In this connection, TML was considering
locating the plant in the States of Uttarakhand/ Himachal Pradesh in view of the
fiscal incentive package for the rapid industrialization being made available by
the Govt. of India to new Industries in these States which has been attracting a
large number of industries to these States.

The incentive package in Uttarakhand/Himachal Pradesh consists of:-

(a) 100% exemption from Excise Duty for 10 years.
(b) 100% exemption from Corporate Income Tax for first 5 years and 30%
exemption from Corporate Income Tax for next 5 years.



2. The Government of West Bengal (GoWB) is keen to take appropriate steps
for rapid industrialization in West Bengal and in this connection wanted to
attract some major Automobile Projects to the State. The Government of
West Bengal approached TML to persuade them to locate an Automobile
Project including the project to manufacture “Tata Small Car” in West
Bengal. TML showed interest in locating the plant in West Bengal, provided
the State gave Fiscal incentive equivalent to the value of total incentives it
would have received by locating the plant in Uttarakhand / Himachal Pradesh.
GoWB offered to match the financial incentives in equivalent terms and
invited TML to set up the Small Car plant in West Bengal entailing
investment of over Rs. 1500 crores by TML. In addition, Vendors supporting
the project are likely to make further investment of over Rs. 500 crores.


3. Since then numerous discussions have been held and based on this
understanding, GoWB proceeded with identification of various lands for this
mega project. Land of approximately 1000 acres chosen in P. S. Singur of
District Hooghly was finalized with TML. West Bengal Industrial
Development Corporation Ltd. (WBIDC) commenced the process of
acquisition of this land. The process was completed with the Declaration of
Award under Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, and thereafter WBIDC
has obtained mutation of ownership in its name in the Record-of-Rights, and
conversion of usage of the land from agriculture to factory.


4. WBIDC is in possession of 997.11 acres of land, which has been acquired
under the Land Acquisition Act. Out of this, an area admeasuring 645.67
acres will be leased to TML for setting up the Automobile Project including
the small car plant, while an area admeasuring 290 acres will be leased to the
vendors to this Automobile Project approved by TML (ancillary and
component manufacturing units), 14.33 acres will be handed over by WBIDC
to WBSEB only for construction of 220/132/33 KV substation and the
balance admeasuring 47.11 acres will be used by WBIDC for rehabilitation
activities for the needy families amongst the Project affected persons.



5. The terms of lease to TML for the 645.67 acres of land for the mother plant
are described below. In addition, WBIDC will provide on lease 290 acres of
land to the Vendors selected and approved by TML on payment of Premium
equal to the actual cost of acquisition plus incidentals, to be calculated on the
basis of the total acquisition cost and other incidental expenses expended by
WBIDC or any of its subsidiaries (duly certified by its auditor) averaged over
the total land acquired. The lease rental payable per year per acre by the
vendors will be Rs. 8000/- per acre for the first 45 (forty five) years and
Rs. 16000/- per acre for the next 45 (forty five) years. The initial lease tenure
will be 90 years. On expiry of 90 years, the lease terms will be fixed on
mutually agreed terms at that point of time.


6. The parties also discussed mutually to finalise the package of incentives
required in order to enable GoWB to fulfill its commitment to match in
equivalent financial terms the fiscal incentive foregone by TML in
Uttarakhand. The Net Present Value (NPV) computation of benefits that the
project would have received in Uttarakhand is attached in Annexure I which
is agreed to by all the parties. Sample computation of benefits in West Bengal
with stated assumptions is given in Annexure II which is accepted by all
parties as agreed basis of computation. The NPV is calculated @ 11%.



7. Accordingly, it is finally agreed, in supersession of all previous decisions and
agreements in this regard, that for this mega project, the fiscal incentives
under Industrial Promotion Assistance in terms of the West Bengal Incentive
Scheme (WBIS 2004), assistance towards land cost and interest subsidy in the
form of a loan against a quantum of the term loan to be taken by TML for this
project will be offered by GoWB as follows:-

(a) WBIDC will provide Industrial Promotion Assistance in the form of a
Loan to TML at 0.1% interest per annum for amounts equal to gross VAT
and CST received by GoWB in each of the previous years ended 31st
March on sale of “Tata Small Car” from the date of commencement of
sales of the small car. This benefit will continue till the balance amount of
the Uttarakhand benefit (after deducting the amount as stated in para 7b
and 7c below) is reached on net present value basis, after which it shall be
discontinued. The loan with interest will be repayable in annual
installments starting from 31st year of commencement of sale from the
plant. The loan availed in the first year will be repaid in the 31st year and
the loan availed in the 2nd year will be repaid in the 32nd year and so on.
WBIDC will ensure that the loan under this head is paid within 60 days of
the close of the previous year (on 31st March) failing which WBIDC will
be liable to compensate TML for the financial inconvenience caused @
1.5 times the bank rate prevailing at the time on the amount due for the
period of such delay.

TML & GoWB will make best efforts to maximize sale of products from
the “Small Car Plant” in the State of West Bengal.


(b) WBIDC will provide 645.67 acres of Land to Tata Motors Ltd on a 90
year lease, on an annual lease rental of Rs. 1 crore per year for first 5
years with an increase @ 25% after every 5 years till 30 years. On expiry
of 30 years, the lease rental will be fixed at Rs. 5 crores per year, with an
increase @ 30% after every 10 years till the 60th year. On the expiry of 60
years, the lease rental will be fixed at Rs. 20 crores per year, which will
remain unchanged till the 90th year. On expiry of 90 years the lease terms
will be fixed on mutually agreed terms at that point of time. The benefit
on account of land would be calculated as the total land area leased out to
TML multiplied by the cost of acquisition calculated in the manner as
provided in para 5 less NPV of rent payable during 60 years.



(c) The West Bengal Govt. will provide to TML a loan of Rs. 200 crores
bearing @ 1% interest per year repayable in 5 equal annual installments
starting from the 21st year from the date of disbursement of loan. This
loan will be disbursed within 60 days of signing of this Agreement.

(d) The West Bengal Government will provide Electricity for the project at
Rs. 3/- per KWH. In case of more than Rs. 0.25 per KWH increase in
tariff in every block of five years, the Government will provide relief
through additional compensation to neutralize such additional increase.


8. It is also agreed that the computation of the comparison of benefits in
Annexure I and II will be changed if there are any changes in the rates of
excise duty and corporate income tax during the next 10 years.

http://www.wbidc.com/

Jyoti Basu responding to treatment

KOLKATA, 9 SEP.: Former chief minister and CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu's condition remained stable on Monday. Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who went to visit him, said he was in good form. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, finance minister Asim Dasgupta and CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose, transport minister Subhas Chakraborty and his wife Ramala went to visit Basu today.

A CT scan was done later on Monday night to assess the condition of blood clots. "He is in very good form and responding very well to the treatment being provided here. He talked about international and national matters. His sense of good humour remains," Gandhi said after coming out of the hospital. He wouldn't clarify whether Basu raised the Singur issue during their meet.

S Upadhyay, senior vicepresident, AMRI Hospitals, said Basu had slept well. "His other parameters are under control," Upadhyay said. A 10-member medical board has been formed to evaluate his condition. On Tuesday morning, members of the board will meet to evaluate the nonagenarian's condition. (abriged)

9 Sep 2008, 0523 hrs IST

TIMES OF INDIA

JYOTI BASU admitted to hospital

KOLKATA: Veteren CPI(M) leader, Former chief minister Jyoti Basu was admitted to a private hospital today with a blood clot in the brain caused by a fall at home on Friday night.

“He is fully conscious, stable and is having normal nutrition. He is presently kept under observation,” a medical bulletin issued by AMRI Hospitals, near Dhakuria Bridge, said. A 10-member medical board, headed by neurosurgeon R.N. Bhattacharya, has been set up.

“There is a blood clot on the left side of the brain surface. But there is no plan for immediate surgery,” said a doctor treating him. “He takes blood-thinning medicines, so it is not possible to perform a surgery immediately. Those medicines have been stopped in case there is need for surgery.”

Hospital officials said a number of pathological tests were done and the results were normal. “More tests will be done tomorrow and the medical board will once again review the progress on Tuesday,” the bulletin said.

Basu, 95, was admitted to the hospital at 11.35am and is in a special suite on the second floor of the hospital’s new building. Doctors said he was likely to be kept under observation for a week.
On Friday night, the CPI(M) leader had bumped against a bathroom wall while trying to locate a light switch. A CT scan revealed a blood clot.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee and state health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra visited Basu in hospital. “He is perfectly all right and talking normally,” Mishra said.

The Telegraph,

8 September, 2008

PIX: SHYAMAL BASU, GANASHAKTI

Issues regarding Industrialisation in West Bengal Industrial land Use

The dismantling of the industrial licensing regime accompanied by various
other liberalization policies from the early 1990s has given the State an opportunity to
boost industrial growth, private investment and employment generation and at the
same time, has created an environment of competition among different States. This
has put a tremendous responsibility on the State Government to adopt appropriate
steps in order to bring about rapid industrialization in West Bengal. Aware of the
opportunities for industrial growth likely to be created in West Bengal, the
Government of West Bengal has been pursuing policies for overall economic
development of the State with a view to achieving growth with equity and social
justice. The State’s Industrial Policy was announced in 1994 with an aim to achieve a
faster industrial development. It encourages private sector investment and envisages
the role of Government as a facilitator of this process.

It should first be noted that the State Government’s policies for land reform
from the late 1970s have made a significant impact on the stagnant food production
scenario. The average annual growth of food output1 during 1980-95 was 5.03 %
compared to 1.22 % during 1970-80. However, the rate of growth of agricultural
output over time has been affected by increasingly dwindling size of per capita
holding of farm land which has come down from 1.20 hectares in 1970-71 to 0.82
hectares in 2000-012, and is thus proving to be economically unviable to sustain a
family. The average size of land holding appears to be one of the smallest amongst the
states and much below the national average of 1.41 hectares.

The recent growth path of the West Bengal economy depicts a picture of
falling share of agriculture in total SDP (State Domestic Product)3 from 27.48% in
1999-2000 to 21.82% in 2005-06 followed by a relatively steady growth of secondary
sector from 14.85% to 16.93%. The share of the tertiary sector has increased from
52.27% to 56.17% over the same period. At the same time, it is felt that the increase
in the services sector cannot be sustained over a long period without an increase in
manufacturing activity.


The last decade had witnessed a steady growth of SDP in the State with all the
key sectors including infrastructure having recorded a significant growth over the last
10 years. The SDP1 recorded a compound annual growth of 7.07 % during 1993-94 to
2003-04 as against the all India GDP growth of 6.23 %. However, in the last two
years, the rate of growth of the State has fallen slightly behind the all-India rate. The
rural economy has witnessed a phase of distinct shift in occupational pattern and life
style which is reflected in the pattern of per capita consumption of non-food items and
also an increasing aspiration towards school and higher education.

The 2001 census reveals that there has been a shift in the occupation pattern of
the main workers in relation to 1991 census data thereby reflecting diversification in
economic activities in the rural economy. The share of cultivators in total main
workers decreased from 30.2 % in 1991 to 20.85 % in 2001. While the share of
agricultural labourers has remained more or less static around 22.7 %, the same for
other workers has increased from 44.3 % to 52.7 % during the same period.

Growth of Industry in West Bengal, post 1991

From 1991 to 2006, 1,439 projects in the medium and large industry sector
involving an investment of Rs. 32,632 crores have been implemented in the State.
The number of industrial approvals granted by the Secretariat of Industrial Approvals,
Govt. of India, from January 2000 to December 2006 stood at 2858 with a proposed
investment of about Rs. 83,858 crores

It may be mentioned that for most of the industrial projects implemented in the
State, land for industries has been mostly purchased by the entrepreneurs directly
from the landowners. The State Government has in recent times also attempted to
carry out direct purchase of land for setting up industrial clusters. The process of
obtaining land through direct purchase has shown a mixed outcome.

The process of direct purchase adopted by the State Government was to set up
a consultative process involving local representatives and local district officials, to
identify land, and develop a consensus on the price of the land. The actual process of
purchase began after such a consensus was reached at. This process yielded the
desired results in the case of the Food and Poly Parks at Sankrail in Howrah district,
the Plasto-Steel Park at Barjora in the Bankura district and industries in Khargapur.

However, the same process ran into problems in the case of the Foundry Park and
Rubber Park in Howrah district due to resistance from various private interests which
had already purchased some of the identified lands across the project area and along
the roads. The inability to buy these plots through direct purchase meant that the road
frontage of the industrial park and contiguity of the plots were adversely affected.
Finally, in order to complete the process of arranging the land, the Government had to
take recourse to the LA Act, to acquire the intervening plots and plots abutting the
road.

However, the State Government’s assistance in the form of acquisition is
required in the case of large projects, where the requirement of land is large.
Examples are the Tata small car project, and the various steel plant projects in the
pipeline. Similarly, in today’s competitive environment, the Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) need to reduce their cost of operation, thereby helping them to
function in a competitive manner and at the same time comply with environmental
norms. Therefore, setting up of small industrial clusters for SMEs, with shared
common facilities, enhances their competitiveness. Government has to step in to
acquire the land and set up these clusters with the necessary common facilities and
infrastructure.

At the same time, many of the existing SMEs may run into environmental
problems in their existing locations, which have become urbanized. Since these
industries would need to relocate to new, environment friendly industrial parks and
obtain environment clearance, it becomes necessary for the State Government to assist
them in the acquisition of land.

There has been a significant investment in the IT and ITeS sectors in West
Bengal. Major players such as Infosys, Wipro, ICICI Bank, ITC Infotech and foreign
companies have evinced interest in setting up IT and ITeS facilities, and most of them
wish to locate in the Greater Kolkata area. Since it is accepted that this sector is also
an engine of growth and employment, the State Government also has to arrange land
in the Greater Kolkata area for this sector.

The projects in pipeline involving large investments in manufacturing sector
for setting up modern and environment friendly production facilities will require large
tracts of land. Moreover, it is always not possible for every industry to locate in a
particular site. Decisions regarding location are based on a number of factors. In
addition to availability of land, quality infrastructure in terms of road and rail
connectivity (as well as proximity to a port for many industries), adequate supply of
water and power, as well as proximity to markets and urban centers are required for
successful implementation of projects within a definite time frame. In order to avoid
the complicated process of purchase of land from a large number of owners and
compliance with existing land laws of the State especially pertaining to land ceiling it
may be necessary for the State Government to acquire the land required to set up
industries.

In the last few years, the State Government has been assisting entrepreneurs to
obtain land through the process of acquisition as well as direct purchase. The State
Government acquired 2102.39 acres along with direct purchase of 1934 acres of land
for setting up industries in the last three years.

In West Bengal, the net sown area1 is 62 % of total reported land area while
another 13.48% in under forest, and 18.52 % is already under non-agricultural use.
The total land in the categories of barren and uncultivable land; permanent pasture
and other grazing land; land under trees and groves not covered in net sown area; and
culturable waste land together add up to 1.42%, (of which culturable waste alone is
0.40 %). For the country as a whole, the percentage of net sown area is 46.07%, while
the percentage of land under categories of barren and uncultivable land; permanent
pasture and other grazing land; land under trees and groves not covered in net sown
area; and culturable waste land together add up to 15.41% (of which culturable waste
is 4.46%).

To minimize usage of agricultural land for industrial use and to achieve a
balanced and sustainable industrial growth, the State Government is seeking to
implement a policy for location of industries in a manner so as to maximize use of
uncultivable land, locate industries in backward areas of the State, develop industrial
clusters thereby using common infrastructure and optimizing available resources. The
State Government is conducting a field survey on the vested land available as per
records and assessing its viability for industrial usage keeping in view its size,
location, contiguity and availability of infrastructure. The State Government is also
trying to use the land locked up in closed and sick industries keeping in view the legal
issues and other complications.

A Policy for Location of Industries:

In pre-independence times, the industrial development in West Bengal centered
around Howrah, Hooghly, Asansol and Barrackpore due to connectivity through rail,
road and river and availability of raw materials. In North Bengal, industrial
development has been mostly confined to tea industry and some food processing
activities in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri. Thereafter, industrial growth has concentrated
first in Durgapur and then in Haldia. That Haldia would develop as one of West
Bengal’s largest industrial areas was clear once it was decided, in the late 1960s, to
set up the Haldia Dock Complex. Proximity to a port has always been a major factor
in deciding location of large industries.

In order to facilitate planned industrial development, some industrial parks
have in the meanwhile already been developed by the State Government such as
Kolkata Leather Complex; Shilpangan in Salt Lake for light engineering goods;
Paridhan - the Garment Park in Beliaghata, for apparel and garment manufacturing
units; Manikanchan SEZ in Salt Lake for gems and jewellery units; Food Park and
Poly Park in Sankrail in Howrah district; and the Plasto-Steel Park in Barjora in
Bankura district. It is estimated that more such planned industrial parks are required
to accommodate medium sized industries of the State. Growth Centres, i.e., large
industrial estates, have been set up at Kalyani, Kharagpur, Falta, Uluberia, Haldia,
Bishnupur, Raninagar, Dabgram, Malda, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Bolpur.
Similarly, the MSE&T Department has set up industrial estates in different parts of
the State for the small-scale industries. More such parks are planned by the C&I
Department and the MSE&T Department.

In order to create a balanced and sustainable industrial growth in the State and
maximize the use of uncultivable land in the State, it is felt that some parts of the
State can be identified as industrial growth poles, because of factors such as
availability of non-agricultural land, historical industrial presence, and availability of
good infrastructure. This will mean optimal use of the existing industrial
infrastructure, and upgradation of infrastructure where required, and facilitate/create
new industrial infrastructure for projects in backward areas.

It is proposed by the State Government that these focal areas of industry can
be: (i) Haldia; (ii) Asansol-Durgapur and contiguous areas of Bankura and Purulia
across the Damodar river; (iii) Howrah-Hooghly; (iv) Barrackpore; (v) Kharagpur-
Jhargram; (vi) Siliguri-Jalpaiguri; and (vii) Kalyani. At the same time, it is also
proposed to develop small industrial clusters in all districts of the State to meet the
requirements of the SME sector and to create employment opportunities in all
districts.

1 Estimates of Area & Production of Principal Crops in West Bengal, 2002-03
2 Agricultural Census Report, 2000-01
3 Annual Review of West Bengal Economy,2004-05,CMIE
4 Annual Review of West Bengal Economy:2003-04
5 Annual Report, Commerce & Industries Department, Govt. of West Bengal
6 Status on Land, published by the Land &Land Reforms Department, Govt. of West Bengal

SOURCE: www.wbidc.com

Rehabilitation measures for the Project Affected Persons

Along with the issue of industrial land use, the issue regarding

compensation and rehabilitation of the PAPs is relevant.

Large tracts of contiguous land are required for
setting up industries thereby necessitating land acquisition.

The State Government has attempted to locate land for

industry with a focus to minimizing displacement of
families from their homestead land. In addition to the availability of
uncultivable/barren land, the location of industries is also

determined by factors such as connectivity, availability

of water and power. Due to land constraint in the State
and unavailability of appropriate industrial infrastructure

in all districts, agricultural land has been used for industrial

purpose in some cases. Appropriate compensation
towards land and provision of alternate livelihood to the

PAPs has been ensured in
such cases.

The issues pertaining to rehabilitation shows variation based

on the location,nature and quantum of land involved in the

project. There is sufficient scope of continuously evolving

and improving the rehabilitation strategy with field experience,
felt needs and exchange of ideas, the underlying objective being

the overall socioeconomic development of the area, provision

of alternative livelihood and an improvement in the quality of

the living of the PAPs. Successful implementation of
rehabilitation programmes is critical to accelerate and sustain

industrial growth in West Bengal and the object is therefore

to create a model of inclusive development in
consultation with the academicians, industry, government

and all stakeholders.

Some key features of rehabilitation for PAPs

in industrial projects

The intent of State Government is to create a favourable

environment so that the PAPs can participate in the

growth process and avail of the employment opportunities
created through industrialization. Some of the components

of the rehabilitation initiatives that have been taken up by

the State Government are common to all large
projects which have been finalized or are in the pipeline.

It has been ensured that the clause for provision for vocational

training, alternate livelihood and access to basic
amenities by the concerned industry is built into the agreement

itself. The key features of the rehabilitation measures include

inter alia payment of appropriate compensation towards

land to land losers and bargadars, capacity
building to assist the PAPs to avail of opportunities created

through industrialization thereby providing alternate livelihood

and the overall development of the area through community

development initiatives.

• Compensation towards land/re-settlement

􀂾 Payment of compensation at the higher side of the prevailing market rate
depending upon the character of land with 30% solatium and interest over and
above the land value

􀂾 Payment to bargadars at the rate of 25% of the total compensation paid to the
owner of the land, which is more than the stipulated six times the annual
value of the crops as per the LA Act, 1894

􀂾 Payment of 25% of the total compensation to the non-recorded bargadars after
enquiry

􀂾 Resettlement of families whose homestead land has been identified for
acquisition through the construction of dwelling houses in close proximity of
original place of residence in accordance with G.O no.1706-LA-3M-07/06
dated 6th June,2006 of the Land & Land Reforms Department, Govt. of West
Bengal

􀂾 Additional 10% incentive to willing landowners

• Capacity building of PAPs

􀂾 Dissemination of information regarding livelihood opportunities likely to be
created with operationalisation of the concerned industry

􀂾 Necessary counseling to assist them to transit from agricultural occupation to
non-agricultural occupations and participate in the growth process

􀂾 Identify the alternate livelihood and non-agricultural activities

􀂾 Provide adequate training for equipping the PAPs to avail of the employment
opportunities

􀂾 Facilitate self employment through training, providing credit linkage and
construction of commercial stalls

􀂾 Facilitate Self Help Groups for availing opportunities arising from outsourcing
of some activities by concerned industries with special focus on women.

• Community Development initiatives in the Project Affected Area

􀂾 Improve and upgrade road connectivity

􀂾 Provide access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities

􀂾 Provide access to health facilities

􀂾 Provide access to education

Rehabilitation initiatives taken/proposed to be

taken in large projects in West Bengal

• Integrated Iron & Steel Plants-some key features

A large number of investors have evinced interest in setting up steel plants in the
State. The Government of West Bengal has entered or is the process of entering into
an agreement with them. Some of the key projects are the Jindal Steel and Shyam
Steel in Paschim Medinipur district, Bhushan Steel, Videocon and Abhijeet Steel in
Burdwan district, the Jai Balaji Group, Adhunik Steel and Shyam Steel in Purulia
district. In its agreement with all the Steel companies, the State Government has built
in the clause that the industry shall at its cost provide a rehabilitation, resettlement or
suitable employment package for the land losers whose land is to be acquired or
purchased for the Project and other Project Affected Persons. This will include setting
up new facilities and infrastructure and strengthening existing facilities and
infrastructure in relation to vocational training, education, self employment schemes
for the women, self help groups and social welfare measures such as healthcare,
crèches, drinking water sources and sanitation for PAPs. The rehabilitation and
resettlement package has to be commenced and implemented along with the
construction of the Steel Plants. The industry shall abide by and implement the
resettlement and rehabilitation package in consultation with the Government of West
Bengal. The industry may also utilise the services of the local Employment Exchange
for employment. The industry shall in consultation with GOWB, finalise and
announce the said package within a period of 6 (six) months from the identification of
the Project Land or 1 (one) year from the date of signing the agreement, whichever is
earlier.

• New Kolkata International Development (NKID)

-some key features

􀂾 Construction of Commercial Blocks with shops/stalls adjacent to roads for
allotment to land losers

􀂾 Four Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) for providing vocational training
free of cost to 5000 students/year. Maintenance and operation of the VTCs for
5 years by the Developer

􀂾 Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Industrial Estates in
different locations adjoining the road for allotment to medium and small scale
industries.

• Tata Small Car Factory, Singur

A Camp Office of WBIDC at Singur was set up in October 2006 with a view to
registering the names of the PAPs i.e., land losers and bargadars whose land had been
acquired for the project and landless agricultural labourers. Initially, WBIDC took the
initiative of capacity building of the PAPs by providing them appropriate training in
order to develop or upgrade the skills of the affected persons for availing of the job
opportunities likely to be created both locally as well as outside the project area
through forward and backward linkages. The rehabilitation strategy was therefore
multi pronged and built upon the premise that the skills of the PAPs may be
developed/upgraded in the best available technical institutions so as to enable them to
(i) avail of the local job opportunities that are likely to be created with the setting up
of TML plant and (ii) certified training may be provided to persons in areas with high
job potential to make them capable of availing job opportunities in any place. In the
process, a number of training institutions have been identified to impart suitable
training to the registered land losers/land less persons who were selected on the basis
of their suitability (aptitude, age, sex, educational qualification) to particular
categories of training.

Registration of PAPs as on 21.09.07

1. Total registered land-losers

Total registered landless persons
Total:
2338
586
2924

2. Persons covered under various Training Programmes

a) Completed
b) Ongoing(including18 trainees at TML, Jamshedpur)
c) Planned
Total :
448
356
805
1609

Technical Training:

Anticipating a significant demand of technically trained personnel likely to arise with
the operationalisation of the TML plant at Singur, 176 persons were nominated by
WBIDC for undergoing a four months’ course at RKM Shilpa Mandir, Belur Math in
November, 2006.In order to provide quality modular training in relevant trades to
meet the requirements of the auto industry, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
was entered into between the Department of Technical Education and Training
(DTET), Government of West Bengal, WBIDC and TML on 25th April,2007 for
imparting class room training as per syllabus prepared by the Directorate of Industrial
Training in consultation with TML and approved by the State Certificate for
Vocational Training, West Bengal. A total of 279 trainees including 169 trainees
previously trained in RKM Shilpa Mandir were selected amongst the PAPs for
undergoing training at Ramkrishna Mission Shilpa Mandir, Howrah, Howrah homes
and Hooghly ITI. It was also agreed by the DTET that a short version of the course
would be designed for the persons who have already undergone the training in Belur
Math.

After successful completion of the training in the ITIs, the students will be
awarded the State Council for Vocational Training (SCVT) Certificate and thereafter
undergo factory training in the TML plant at Singur for 18 months, on completion of
which they would be eligible for the award of the National Council for Vocational
Training (NCVT) Certificate. It is expected that after successful completion of the
training, the students will be absorbed in the mother plant or in the ancillary units.
Another MoU on similar lines as the one signed on 24th April, 2007 was
signed between TML and WBIDC for providing training to 59 persons at ATI
Dasnagar (Govt. of India organization) on 14th May,2007. A third MoU was signed on
the 18th of September, 2007 between DTET, WBIDC and TML for training 101
persons from land loser families.

Other Trainings:

In addition to technical training, training was imparted in catering, tailoring, masonry,
computer hardware/MIS/call center and apparel manufacturing. The women trained in
catering are now operating the kitchen at Singur and providing cooked meals to the
project officials. The women trained by Singer in tailoring have since received orders
from TML for uniforms. All persons trained jointly by CII and WBIDC in masonry
are working on site. Due to practical problems, the PAPs have shown little interest to
travel to Kolkata/other places for work and therefore only a small number of persons
trained by NIIT in Hardware, MIS and Call Center/BPO and by Apparel Training
Development Centre in apparel manufacturing have been employed.

Community Development initiatives

A comprehensive drainage scheme has been implemented in Singur with the reexcavation
of Julkia river and construction of drainage infrastructure around the
project area to reduce water logging in the surrounding areas. In order to provide
access to villages surrounding the project area, two by-pass roads have been
constructed. In order to provide access to clean drinking water, 87 tubewells were resunk
and 100 tubewell platforms constructed in the project affected areas across 3
Gram Panchayats.97 ladies bathrooms have been constructed in the project affected
area. Repairing , renovation and reconstruction works were carried out in the school
building of Beraberi Suryanarayan Memorial High School.

• Kolkata Leather Complex

􀂾 1 acre of land has been earmarked for development of a market and the
construction of market stalls for land losers has since commenced

􀂾 Construction of a resettlement colony for the displaced families of the
Bederhait village and dwelling units provided free of cost along with related
facilities such as water, electricity, sewerage and drainage etc.

􀂾 3 training programmes are scheduled to be organized for the project affected
persons:

(i) Training for leather goods by the Indian Leather Product
Association(ILPA)
(ii) Training in tanning methods organized by Calcutta Leather Complex
Tanneries Association (CLTA) with the support of Council of leather
Exports (CLE) and ASSOMAC, Italy
(iii) Training on a variety of trades by the CII to increase employability of the
land losers

SOURCE: www.wbidc.com

Tata Motors “distressed” ; suspension of work will continue

Official Press Statement

Tata Motors Ltd. is distressed at the limited clarity on the outcome of the discussions between the West Bengal State Government and the representatives of the agitators in Singur. In view of the same, Tata Motors is obliged to continue the suspension of construction and commissioning work at the Nano Plant.We will review our stated position only if we are satisfied that the viability of the project is not being impinged, the integral nature of the mother plant and our ancillary units are being maintained and all stakeholders are committed to develop a long term congenial environment for smooth operations of the plant in Singur.

Spokesperson,

Tata Motors Ltd.

September 8, 2008

Issued by:Debasis Ray

Head (Corporate Communications)

Phone: 0091 22 66657209

Email: debasis.ray@tatamotors.com

http://www.tatamotors.com/

Suresh Rangarajan

Mobile: 098216 11560

Email: suresh@vccpl.com

Mahasweta Sen

Mobile: 098310 39900/99038 39900

Mahasweta@vccpl.com

Vaishnavi Corporate Communications

NOW RAHUL BAJAJ BACKS MAMATA! WHY?????

Bajaj backs Mamata

New Delhi, Sept. 7 (PTI): Rahul Bajaj, who is planning to launch a small car like the Nano, came out in strong support of Mamata Banerjee tonight, saying she was “not playing politics” over Singur but “fighting for farmers”.

On today’s resolution at Raj Bhavan, the Bajaj Auto chairman told CNN-IBN: “The agreement is subject to scrutiny of details worked out between the three parties, i.e., the vendors, Mamata and the West Bengal government.”

He added: “I am not sure what Tata Motors says on that but I do not believe that the West Bengal government would have given any commitment without first consulting Tata Motors. I hope it’s October October October and Singur Singur Singur for Tatas’ Nano.”

Two years ago, he said, the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government had not taken the issue “seriously”.

“Why are the ancillary units being moved now? Who was at fault? There was insensitivity on the part of the West Bengal government... then maybe they were at fault. I am not saying if the Tatas are at fault or not. There was a problem and it was buried for too long a duration,” he said.

THE TELEGRAPH,

Issue Date: Monday , September 8 , 2008

Mamata fought for farmers: Rahul Bajaj
8 Sep 2008, 0038 hrs IST,PTI

NEW DELHI: Leading industrialist Rahul Bajaj on Sunday night came out in strong support of Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, saying she was "not playing politics over the Singur issue" and was "fighting for farmers". Reacting to resolution of Singur impasse, the Bajaj Industry Chairman said, "the agreement is subject to scrutiny of details worked out between the three parties, that is the vendors, Mamata and the West Bengal government." Asked about his opinion on how he considered the decision, Bajaj said, "I am not sure what Tata Motors says on that but I do not believe that the West Bengal government would have given any commitment without first consulting Tata Motors. I hope its October and Singur for Tata's Nano." Bajaj went on say that two-years back the West Bengal government did not take the issue raised by Mamata Bannerjee "seriously". He stated that the fact that ancillary units are having to be moved cited "insensitivity on part of the West Bengal government." "Why are the ancillary units being moved now? Who was at fault? There was insensitivity on the part of the West Bengal government...then maybe they were at fault. I am not saying if the Tata's are at fault or not. There was a problem and it was buried for too long a duration," he said. Asked if the Tata's Nano project got caught in a political turf war, Bajaj responded, "Mamataji's party was trying to help poor farmers and calling it politics will be unfair. Maybe from one seat in the Parliament she wants 10-20 seats, to that extent politics come into the picture...it is not necessarily bad. I do not want to play any blame game."

TIMES OF INDIA,

8TH SEPETMBER,2008

SINGUR IMPASSE: GOVERNOR' STATEMENTS

Press Release

Governor's statement on September 7

at joint press-meet on Singur site

Dated: 07.09.2008

Following is the announcement made by Governor in
the joint press-meet in presence of Shri Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee, Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal;
Shri Partha Chatterjee, leader of the Opposition, West
Bengal Legislative Assembly; Smt. Mamata Banerjee
and State Ministers Shri Nirupam Som and Shri
Surjya Kanta Mistra and other leaders in Raj Bhavan
on September7,2008:-

"The Government has taken the decision to respond
to the demands of those farmers who have not
received compensation, by means of land to be
provided to the maximum within the project area and
the rest in adjacent areas as early as possible.
Towards this, a Committee will be constituted to
ascertain the scope and settle the modalities within a
period of one week. During this time the Government
will urge the vendors not to make any construction.
Smt. Mamata Banerjee is making an announcement
regarding the suspension of the agitation from Singur.
The Government and those who have been agitating
on behalf of the farmers will cooperate with each
other for the benefit of the industry, agriculture and
ancillaries."


Press Release (II)
Dated 5.9.08

Discussions were held between the
State Government panel and the
panel representing Krishi Jomi
Rakhsa Committee on the Singur
project for three hours. Both sides
expressed their respective views
and discussions were held in a
constructive spirit with the
intention of providing a way-out.
The discussions will resume at 11
a.m. tomorrow.

Press Release

Dated 4.9.08

Sub: Preliminary Discussions On Singur

The Governor held preliminary discussion this morning with Shri Nirupam Sen, Minister-in-charge, Commerce & Industries and Dr. Surya Kanta Misra, Minister-in-charge, Health, Panchayats & Rural Development; the Chief Secretary; the Home Secretary and Principal Secretary, Commerce & Industries Department.

Shri Sudeep Bandopadhyay, MLA and Chairman, Standing Committee on Commerce & Industries, Industrial Reconstruction and Public Enterprises, West Bengal Legislative Assembly briefed the Governor on his Committee's perceptions of the issue.

In the afternoon, a five-member team led by Shri Partha Chatterjee,MLA and leader of the Opposition, West Bengal Legislative Assembly and including Shri Debabrata Bandopadhyay briefed the Governor on the Opposition perspectives. Mr. Justice Chittatosh Mukherjee was present at all the discussions.The Governor is looking forward to a meaningful dialogue tomorrow.

A new roadblock

West Bengal: The Tata Small Car project again runs into trouble as the Trinamool Congress-backed KJRC resorts to violence.

TROUBLE has resurfaced at the Tata Small Car Project site in Singur in West Bengal’s Hooghly district. Supporters of the Trinamool Congress-backed Krishi Jami Rakshya (protection of farmland) Committee (KJRC) beat up a civil engineer working at the site and threatened the workers there with dire consequences if they did not quit their jobs and leave Singur.

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee stoked the fire, emboldened by the success of her party in Singur in the recent panchayat elections. She announced an indefinite gherao of the plant site from August 24 until 400 acres (160 hectares) of the 997.11 acres (399 ha) acquired for the project were returned to the reluctant landlosers.

That was enough cause for concern for the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government, which sees the project as one that involves the most important investment in the manufacturing sector in recent times. And Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant’s recent statement only added to its anxiety. Asked about the problems faced by the company in Singur, Kant said, “We are continuing as long as our patience lasts” – a statement with obvious ominous connotations.

Right from the beginning of this project in 2006, the Trinamool Congress, along with the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), has been attempting to put a spanner in the works, be it over the acquisition of land or over compensation for the landlosers. In the most recent incident, on July 29, Manish Khatua, an engineer in the employ of Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd, entrusted with the civil construction of the small car plant, was beaten with iron rods by a group of villagers, allegedly KJRC members.

According to reports, the incident took place when Khatua tried to prevent the group from stealing iron rods from the plant site. The incident occurred less than 48 hours after the KJRC threatened employees at the plant site. It even launched a midnight attack with handmade bombs on a nearby lodge where some of the workers were staying.

Volatile as the situation has been at the troubled plant site for the past two years, the latest incidents left workers shaken. According to sources, a sizeable section of workers was too scared to report for work for a few days even though police protection and the number of Tatas’ own security guards were increased around the plant site.

“With almost 80 per cent of the construction work over, at present on any given day, there are between 2,500 to 3,000 people working at the site, and there has been an exodus of quite a few because of the KJRC’s intimidation tactics,” a source close to Tata Motors told Frontline. This has to some extent affected the progress of the work, but the company’s top brass are apparently confident that Nano, the Rs.1 lakh car, will roll out of the factory “between October and December this year”.

At present there are around 600 policemen deployed in Singur along with 500 private security personnel employed by Tata Motors. In fact, State Home Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty himself went to Singur to take stock of the situation and even held a meeting at the factory site on August 5 to discuss the law-and-order situation.

Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, has stuck to her guns, refusing repeated invitations from the State government to sit for talks on the issue. She has ruled out any possibility of talks unless the 400 acres acquired without the consent of farmers are returned.

Out of around 12,000 landowners who were affected, 1,500 refused to accept compensation, demanding the return of their land. “Nowhere else in this country has any opposition party of a State hindered the development and growth of the State for a short-term political gain; in all other States, the opposition has the greater interest of the State in mind,” a government source told Frontline.

Mamata Banerjee’s stand on Singur has not found the kind of support she may have been hoping for. Perhaps realising this, she adopted a more conciliatory tone at a press conference on August 5, where she said, “I am not opposed to industrialisation and I do not want the Tatas to leave Singur, but I want the 400 acres forcibly acquired from unwilling farmers to be returned to them.”

She has apparently already identified land opposite the plant site where, according to her, ancillary units could be accommodated. This was done without consulting either the State government or Tata Motors.

The government, however, has ruled out the possibility of any part of the land being returned. West Bengal Commerce and Industries Minister and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Nirupam Sen said the 400 acres in question were scattered over the project site: “How can the government return this land without jeopardising the whole project?”

Moreover, a Supreme Court ruling also states that land acquired for a public purpose cannot be resold to the erstwhile owners but can either be used for another public purpose or, failing that, be put to public auction and the sale proceeds used for a public purpose (State of Kerala vs. N. Bhaskaran Pillai, 1997 vide SCC, 432).

On January 18, the Calcutta High Court upheld, while disposing of a number of public interest litigation cases, the State government’s land acquisition proceeding in Singur, making it clear in a 217-page judgment that land acquisition in the region was “made for the public purpose of employment generation and socio-economic development of the region” and ruled out any mala fide intention of the State government in acquiring land in Singur.

The Tata project is of singular importance to West Bengal. The Rs.1,000-crore project involves one of the biggest investments in the manufacturing industry in the State and is expected to kick-start its reindustrialisation process. Once it is operational, the project is expected to employ 2,000 people directly and 10,000 indirectly. Besides, it is expected to generate spin-offs in different manufacturing spheres and also attract other kinds of industrial investments.

In the Left government’s perception, the industrial future of West Bengal hinges on this prestigious project – a future that envisions industrial growth and employment that will reduce the burden on land and the “disguised unemployment” in the rural economy of the State. According to industrial experts, if the Tatas back out of West Bengal, it will create a “ripple effect” in the industry, severely hampering future investment in the State and crushing hopes of an industrial resurgence.

The State government found support in Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen, who during a recent visit to Kolkata told reporters, “Industrialisation is a must for development. I do not know of any country in the world where development has taken place focussing solely on agriculture. If the Tatas back out of Singur, it may imperil the industrial future of West Bengal. Concerned parties should try to resolve this matter through talks.”

The government has swung into action to allay the fears created in the industry and among the people of West Bengal by Kant’s statement and the Trinamool’s subsequent threat of staging an indefinite siege in Singur.

At a function on August 5 celebrating the birth anniversary of the legendary Marxist leader Muzzafar Ahmed, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said: “Whatever the obstructions, neither the Tatas nor the State government is going to back out. There is no reason to worry. There will be more projects like the one in Singur, providing more opportunity for employment for the new generation.” He said land was acquired in Singur strictly according to the Central government’s guidelines and “not an inch in excess of the requirement was taken”.

Like his Industries Minister, he made it clear that there could be no returning of land to disgruntled farmers. “That would mean the end of the project. Then what excuse would I give the 6,000 youths of the State waiting to get employment there?” he said.

At the same time, the State government is exploring the possibility of rehabilitating these farmers on land in the vicinity by providing them opportunities to learn new skills.

SUHRID SANKAR CHATTOPADHYAY

FRONTLINE,

Volume 25 - Issue 17 :: Aug. 16-29, 2008

GRAPHIX: THE TELEGRAPH

SC widens scope of ‘public purpose'

NEW DELHI: This Supreme Court judgment is sure to take the wind out of political agitations — including the one by Mamata Banerjee at Singur — opposing largescale acquisition of land for setting up of projects, particularly those by private players in different states. The court ruled on Friday that any project giving largescale employment has to be treated as one serving public purpose, thus legitimising the role of state in facilitating land acquisition.

Earlier, narrow interpretation of ‘public purpose’ entitled the state to acquire large tracts of land only if every component of the project to be set up on the acquired land passed the test of public benefit. Departing from this, the apex court gave a very wide meaning to the words ‘‘public purpose’’ and said: ‘‘If the project taken as a whole is an attempt in the direction of bringing foreign exchange, generating employment opportunities and securing economic benefits to the state and the public at large, it will serve public purpose.’’ Accepting in toto arguments advanced by solicitor general G E Vahanvati, who appeared for Andhra Pradesh, a bench comprising Justices C K Thakker and D K Jain cleared the state’s acquisition of vast tracts of land to set up an integrated project, meant to make Hyderabad a major business-cum-leisure tourism centre. The bench held that the project, to be implemented by Andhra Pradesh Infrastructure Investment Corporation (APIIC), would make Hyderabad a world-class business destination.

The fallout of this judgment is significant as the court upheld ‘‘development of infrastructure’’ as legal and legitimate ‘‘public purpose’’ for exercising power of eminent domain. ‘‘Simply because a company has been chosen for fulfilment of such public purpose does not mean that the larger public interest has been sacrificed, ignored or disregarded,’’ said the bench. This is sure to come in handy for the embattled Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government to counter the arguments of Mamata Banerjee against Tata’s Nano project at Singur. To determine ‘public purpose’, the project has to be taken as a whole and judged whether it was in the larger public interest, and then its various components also put to the same test, the bench said. The judgment is in keeping with the requirements of the time with the public sector having long ago ceased to occupy the ‘‘commanding heights’’ of economy, ceding ground to the private sector.

However, while the domination of public sector has diminished, there is resistance to state playing the enabler for the private sector. The SC on Friday applied it more to the joint venture, given the nature of the case being discussed. The joint venture mechanism for implementing the policy, executing the project and achieving lawful public purpose for realising the goal of larger public good would neither destroy the object not vitiate the exercise of power of public purpose for development of infrastructure, the bench said.

6 Sep 2008, 0120 hrs IST,

Dhananjay Mahapatra,

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Brand Bengal stands to lose Rs 80,000 cr

KOLKATA: If the Tatas go, they will take with them almost everything that matters to Brand Bengal: image and the big bucks. The first entity doesn’t carry a price tag but the second one does: a whopping Rs 80,000 crore in investments. The immediate loss will be over Rs 5,000 crore, including the investments on the ancillary units in Singur. The list would also include tier-II vendors, who will have no reason to be here once Ratan Tata moves out.

What’s more, the Tata brands like Tata Realty Infrastructure, Tata Metaliks and Maithon Power Limited might also take flight, amounting to a loss of at least Rs 10,000 crore. Besides, there are other big-time investors who are already jittery. Bharat Forge, which had decided to invest big time in Bengal largely because of the Nano plant in Singur, is now in two minds. The company would have brought in Rs 6,500 crore. This top-of-the-line forging company had signed an MoU with the government earlier this year. Ever since trouble erupted in Singur, their response to the state industries department is: We’ll get back.

Brand Bengal had attracted investment announcements of Rs 1,27,302 crore since the third quarter of the last financial year. But this target is now a distant dream. In case of a Tata pullout, there will be a question mark on the investment from nonferrous metal major Vedanta Group. That will be another Rs 16,000 crore gone. Then, there are steel majors who would have implemented their projects this year, but are apprehensive now. All these steel majors, including Adhunik (Rs 5,000 crore), Shyam Steel (Rs 8,000 crore), Jay Balaji (Rs 16,500 crore), Bhushan Steel (Rs 4,000 crore), Abhijit Group (Rs 8,000 crore) may not be all that keen to invest. ‘‘None of these steel majors will stay on, once the Tatas go,’’ an industries department official said. ‘‘These investments had come after sheer hard work. We had also roped in other automobile majors. Two months ago, they were ready to start work. Now, they are saying they would rather wait and watch,’’ he said.

4 Sep 2008, 1010 hrs IST,

TIMES NEWS NETWORK.

SHAHID DIVAS RALLY WITNESSES A PACKED KOLKATA INDOOR STADIUM

RALLIES HELD IN EVERY DISTRICT OF BENGAL ON 31 AUGUST

KOLKATA(INN): Just over a month back, CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat while in Kolkata to attend a state committee meeting, told us that once the ongoing campaign-movement reached a peak all-over Bengal -- against US intransigence, against the Indian government’s kow-towing before imperialism, and against the runaway inflation, all the secondary and tertiary issues that were created by the Bengal opposition in its different avatars, to tease, taunt, provoke and ultimately harm not only the people of Bengal, but also the Bengal CPI (M), and the Bengal Left Front government, ‘would get subsumed in the people’s struggles.’

MASS MOVEMENTS

Truer words were seldom spoken as was demonstrated by the massive, unprecedented attendance at all the rallies that were being held all-over Bengal, in towns as well as rural areas, on the occasion of remembering the sacrifice of the shahids (martyrs) of the food movements of the past, especially those who were brutally killed in 1966 by the then Congress-run Bengal government. That was not all as the campaign movement widened and deepened among the toiling masses.

The Maoist intransigence has stopped in its tracks. Nandigram has seen only occasionally flaring up despite the Trinamul Congress’s quite unexpected, and as yet unexplained, electoral step forward of the in the last rural polls; and the Darjeeling separatists have halted in their onerous trail to gradually convert the three hill subdivisions into a separate district for all practical purposes.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Bengal chief minister and a senior CPI (M) leader of Bengal started his address at the indoor stadium, after the roar of applause has finally died down when he had stepped up and taken the microphone on the podium, a usual phenomenon and one that leaves him visibly and always in great discomfiture, by asking rhetorically what could be the ‘ways-and-means’ to fathom and plumb the depth of the present situation in India-- and in Bengal?

TWO ISSUES

Two issues, he answered his own query, ‘we must ponder over, and with seriousness that they deserve.’ These were, first, the programme of the campaign movement in the days, weeks, and months, even years to come. Second, what are the ideological, political, organisational, and yes, developmental tasks that the Bengal CPI (M) wants to achieve, taking along the toiling exploited masses of the people all the way?

Buddhadeb served a warning when he said that ‘at the present moment we have a central government that would not even marginally bother about the vast economic crisis overwhelming the nation.’ There is a double digit inflation just topping the fearful figure of 13% plus. The prices of essential commodities are soaring up, productivity has fallen below 7% -- and the smile on the faces of the hoarders and black-marketers, enjoying ‘safe havens’ under the Singh dispensation, are becoming broader and broader.

CORRECT JUNCTURE

Buddhadeb said that some time back, and at the correct juncture, the CPI (M) and the Left had withdrawn their outside support from the Congress-run UPA government. ‘We may remind you of the circumstances that had led us to lend them our support in the first place: there was then a second coming of the BJP, claws, teeth, fangs and talons exposed, ready to ride the rath (chariot) of Hindutva, preparing to render the nation asunder along communal fault lines.’

‘We needed to stop the BJP from assuming office. That was the reason, and the sole reason, behind our lending outside support to the Congress whose authoritarian features the CPI (M) knows better than any political outfit in India, especially from our experiences in Bengal of the 1970s.

Nevertheless, was the support unconditional? No, it was certainly not. A Common Minimum Programme had been drawn up. Two committees had been formed: one of the UPA and the other, the pro-people, Left coordination committee. The condition was the implementation of the contents of the CMP.

‘Soon we started to realise that the Singh régime was moving away from the CMP – slowly at first and then with gleeful rapidity, and the two committees started to meet less and less, and the blemish did not lay with the sincere and mature leadership of the CPI (M) and the Left.

‘We knew that we were about to come under fire – already the people grilled us about our raison d’être of suppoporitng an anti-people government. The oil prices were allowed to float upwards with nary a concern for the cascading and harmful effects on the economy. Would the Singh government mind?

LF WITH THE PEOPLE

The LF government has withdrawn a large chunk of its share of taxes on fuel – a slight but important relief to the people’s economy, the economy where the toiling masses operate for their daily livelihood. Accountable to the people, we even stood the loss of crores of rupees every month by starting to supply rice, lentils, and edible oil at a concessional price.

In the meanwhile, the Singh government was running away with its wishes. ‘We had said “no!” to the “strategic partnership” with the US.’ The central government fussed over the issue but went quietly ahead with its anti-people, anti-national machinations. ‘We had said that they should put an immediate stop to all those “joint exercises” and their likes – but would they listen for a moment—no, and the “no” was not exactly unexpected by then to us, given the central government’s class character.’


WHAT STANDS IN BETWEEN

‘On the last occasion I met Prime Minister Singh,’ said Buddhadeb, ‘I told him quite categorically that the being that stands between the left and the Congress is none other than the one and only George W Bush – and the prime minister would not bother for a response.’

An important task ahead is the building up of a third alternative – a long-drawn task, indeed, for that alternative must come up through the vagaries and the challenges of mass movements all over the country – and not just in the Left-run states. The Left would of course grow from strength to strength as the principal force of opposition in the days to come, was Buddhadeb’s firm belief and conviction.

agriculture and industry

Narrating the agrarian successes of Bengal in recent times, Buddhadeb iterated the need for industries for employment-oriented growth. He was critical of the opposition when they talk out of turn and damning the law of the land about ‘returning and for which compensation has not been received.’ Buddhadeb again said that the portals for discussion were open but within the present legal and administrative frame work.

Buddhadeb also explained what was meant by ancillary units and how these units must abut the mother plant for the production chain to be of any viability at all. The strife going on around Singur is one-sided – nay, more it is a strife between the opposition and the aam janta of Bengal, between the forces of development and the forces of regression – and the question that faces everybody is this: would the state move forwards along its determined path of pro-people, pro-poor, pro-employment growth or would the Trinamul Congress get on with its evil design of stalling the entire process?

Biman Basu who presided spoke briefly on the purport of the rally and on the significance of the day. He narrated his experiences of the food movements in which he had taken a part as a young lad, and had had its first test Congress régime’s brutal ways. Bimanda concluded by saying that all kinds of developmental works in Bengal must take the people along with the entire process and procedures.

Left Front constituent leaders addressing the rally were Manju Kumar Majumdar (CPI), Barun Mukherjee (FB), Debabrata Bandyopadhyay (RSP), Pratim Chatterjee (Marxist FB), Janmejoy Ojha (WBSP), Prabodh Sinha (DSP), Mihir Byne (RCPI), and Rita Chaudhuri (BBC).

(B. PRASANT)

31 August,2008

Infosys Chief Narayana Murthy speaks out for Tata Nano

THE CORPORATE honchos of India, the men who have written some of the greatest success stories in India are all coming forward in a combined effort to express their solidarity opposed to what is happening at Singur at the Tata Nano plant. Narayana Murthy on Sunday (August 31) went on to say that the gridlock at Singur over Tata’s Nano plant is likely to be a major hurdle in the growth of the Indian economy. Murthy went on to add, What has happened in Singur is unfortunate for West Bengal, for India and for all progressive Indians.” Murthy has always been known to speak his mind over social and economic issues.

Earlier, during the anti reservation stirs all over the country, he had come out in defense of the anti reservation activists by saying, “India is perhaps the only country in the world where people fight to be called backward.” At this instance too, he has come out in support of the Tatas, for he feels that it will be a great blot to India’s growth if the Tata Nano project at Singur is halted.He also believed that this event would result in a dearth of jobs for youngsters in the state of West Bengal and it will deter growth in the state. He also said, “This event will unleash fear and uncertainty in the minds of all investors – Indian and foreign – and is likely to be a stumbling block in the excellent GDP growth India has demonstrated in the last decade. “It is time that all well-intentioned Indians stand up and demand a peaceful, logical and constructive way of settling the issue of farmland at Singur and elsewhere in India.” Murthy’s statement comes just a few days after Mukesh, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited said, “A fear-psychosis is being created to slowdown certain projects of national importance”.

Mukesh also believed that such steps will deter the economic growth of the country and will also deter foreign investors from coming and investing in India. He had also gone on to praise the Tata Nano projects citing it as one of the most innovative projects in the world and one that would go on to establish the position of India as a small car hub in the world market. In the entire process, the biggest loser is sure to be the state and the people of West Bengal. (Agencies)

02 September 2008, Tuesday

Tata Motors suspends work on Nano plant in Singur

Kolkata: Tata Motors Ltd. has been constrained to suspend the construction and commissioning work at the Nano plant in Singur in view of continued confrontation and agitation at the site. This decision was taken in order to ensure the safety of its employees and contract labour, who have continued to be violently obstructed from reporting to work. The company has assessed the prevailing situation in Singur, after five continuous days of cancellation of work, and believes that there is no change in the volatile situation around the plant. The project’s auto ancillary partners, who had commenced work at their respective plants in Singur, were also constrained to suspend work in line with Tata Motors’ decision.

In view of the current situation, the company is evaluating alternate options for manufacturing the Nano car at other company facilities and a detailed plan to relocate the plant and machinery to an alternate site is under preparation. To minimise the impact this may have on the recently recruited and trained people from West Bengal, the Company is exploring the possibility of absorbing them at its other plant locations.

Construction of the plant has faced challenges at various points of time. There has however been a significant decline in the attendance of their staff and contractual labour since August 24, 2008. Some of the international consultants working on the plant have returned home and the construction work in the plant has been stalled since August 28, 2008. In fact, the existing environment of obstruction, intimidation and confrontation has begun to impact the ability of the company to convince several of its experienced managers to relocate and work in the plant. Further, several persons engaged in the construction and commissioning work who had taken accommodation at Singur and nearby areas have since vacated and have gone away due to intimidation and fear.

Construction of the Nano project comprising of the Nano manufacturing facilities and the vendor park, a normal feature in modern world-class auto plants, commenced in January 2007. The work on the construction and commissioning of the plant had been nearing completion in line with planned schedules. During construction, this project employed about 4000 employees at its peak including several hundred young residents from and around the region.

As a part of its commitment to enhance the employability of its people. Tata Motors has trained over 762 ITIs and other apprentices from the region and the state. They have undergone retraining at the Tata Motors facilities in Jamshedpur and Pune. Tata Motors’ efforts to offer medical care in and around the region, which had handled over 17,000 medical cases, have been forcefully stopped by violent agitators. As part of the proposed integrated auto cluster in Singur, about 60 key auto ancillary suppliers to the Nano have taken possession of land in the integrated complex and have invested about Rs.500 crore towards construction of their plants and procurement of their equipment and machinery.

Commenting on the situation, a Tata Motors spokesperson said, “The situation around the Nano plant continues to be hostile and intimidating. There is no way this plant could operate efficiently unless the environment became congenial and supportive of the project. We came to West Bengal hoping we could add value, prosperity and create job opportunities in the communities in the state.”

September 02, 2008

Lives changed, by Nano and by siege

By DEVADEEP PUROHIT

Singur, Sept. 1: Mukunda Das was a laid-back trader till the summer of 2006, rarely missing his siesta in Singur.

Then the Tata plant was born, bringing in its wake the sleep-busting jangle of money.

“On an average, I have been selling cash cards worth Rs 6,000 a day for over a year. The growth in business has been phenomenal,” said Das standing outside his store, Moumita Electronics, in Singur Bazar, which sells radio sets to cellphone top-up cards.

On Monday, a weekly off in Singur Bazar, all shops were closed and Das had slipped back to his old routine.

“Even keeping the shop open would not have helped. Sales have slumped since the siege of the Tata factory. Business is not even Rs 1,000 a day,” said Das, a staunch Trinamul supporter.

Standing under the shop’s hoarding, partially covered with signboards of several telecom companies, he spoke of the slump in earnings since work stopped at the Tata factory.

According to Das, everything changed in Singur since the arrival of the Tata plant.

The signs of change are visible across Singur, a sleepy township in Hooghly till a couple of years ago. Four new banks — State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Bank of India — set up shop, nine two-wheeler stores opened, computer training centres mushroomed and consumer goods swamped the stationery shops.

Tinku Maiti, a cycle-van puller till a few months ago, would vouch that the change did not happen only in terms of creation of new avenues to spend and save.

“Our incomes have grown, too…. I earn at least Rs 300 to Rs 400 a day by ferrying passengers from the Singur station to the Tata plant,” said Maiti, standing next to his trophy — a motorised van he bought two months ago.

Maiti, son of a farmer from Ratanpur that escaped land acquisition for the Tata project by a whisker, said the increase in employment opportunity had changed the standard of living in rural Singur as well.

As the Tata Motors plant was closed for the third consecutive day, Maiti and his fellow motor van drivers — around 70 of them — had a dull day at work.

Sadai Koley of Koley Cement Syndicate, one of the biggest local suppliers of cement, sand and stone chips to the Tata plant, also had time to sit back and sift through his account books.

Koley started the hardware business seven years ago but it took off only in 2006. In two years, it has grown by over 15 times and prompted him to increase staff strength from six to 30 and buy three computers.

“I cannot understand why Trinamul supporters are against the project. Many members of the syndicates, which supply materials to the Tata plant, are Trinamul supporters,” said Koley, sitting in his office on Surendra Mullick Road in Singur.

For traders like Koley and Das, the only pitfall of the boom is rising property prices and rent in Singur.

Deed writer Ashok Chakraborty, who used to handle at least 50 property deals a month, explained how the rising property prices — around 100 per cent in less than 12 months — had affected his trade.

“People are expecting further increase and not selling land. So, I hardly write 15 to 20 deeds a month. But as our remuneration is a percentage of the value of the deal, my income has gone up.”

The rising income and easy availability of credit — other than the four new banks, Singur also has Allahabad Bank, UBI and Hooghly District Co-operative Bank — have given a boost to Singur’s economy.

“The future looks exciting as promoters are joining hands with owners of houses along Singur Bazar and Natun Bazar to develop more commercial space,” said a senior official of a public sector bank in Singur.

But he was quick to add that the growth run would halt if the Tatas decide to pull out.

highway hope

Fifty-nine trucks were allowed to pass through Durgapur Expressway in two batches on Monday — the first such movement since the Singur siege began more than a week ago. Officials said they were hopeful trucks would be allowed to ply the highway tomorrow, too.

Issue Date: Tuesday ,

September 2 , 2008,

THE TELEGRAPH

Media reports Left rally against imperialism on 1st Sept.

Half-a-million march in Kolkata

to condemn the pro-imperialist

stance of the central government

KOLKATA,1st Sept.: vast sea of people started to advance in waves that rode on the strength of anti-imperialist feelings of the strongest kind as over five lakh of people – from virtually every cross-section of the society – strode along the streets and lanes of Kolkata. The people’s march organised by the Bengal Left Front was led by the LF leadership with the LF chairman Biman Basu despite injuries to his right foot, leading the marchers by example – the blazing sun above and the molten tar underfoot were of little hindrance.

The march commenced amidst rousing anti-imperialist slogans from the Suhrawardi Avenue near the Brabourne College grounds and by the time the first columns, banners, festoons, buntings, tableaux, and countless Red Fags fluttering in the freshening welcome breeze, as LF chairman Biman Basu released a single white dove that flew right up in the background of a glittering blue mid-day sky overhead.

The marchers started to walk along the A J C Bose Road and we were quite astounded to see another equally long column marching along the opposite footpath in the ‘wrong’ direction. Polite enquiries revealed that these streams of men and women, many of the latter carrying children suitably and carefully shielded from the sun under their pallus, were in fact going to Park Circus to join up with the eternally long ‘tail’ of the procession.

Police wireless buzzed to speak of numbers—and the ‘guesstimates’ were constantly revised, upwards, of course – from ‘one lakh, sir,’ to finally, with a bit of surprise in the voice, ‘over five lakhs, sir,’ and did we or did we not note a hint of glee in the voices of at least some of the men in uniform on duty or was our old aural équipe playing up in the sun?

Whatever – the fact of the matter was the lengthening line of people who soon decided to merge into a single, albeit a bit clumsy, a bit boisterous, and a tiny bit belligerent wave of humanity that advanced relentlessly and called upon the central government to stop kneeling lower and lower down before US imperialism, the perpetrators of all kinds of crimes against humanity itself, all over the world.

Faces in the crowd we saw aplenty as we dodged in and out of the processionists. We saw Sudeshna Paul from Belghoria, a former student who is now a young professor and who teaches sociology at a college in faraway Nadia and who had come to the city braving the train services that suddenly but not strangely had started running well behind schedule on this particular day, quickly snatch up and gather together her shopping bags from the roadside stall where she was making a hasty purchase of some increasingly higher-priced daily necessities, and then literally run swiftly join the marchers as the wave advanced-- soon getting lost in the sea of faces. We also Akram-ul Huq, a garage ‘mechanic,’ an underpaid helper actually, forego a day’s wage to join in, for the marchers are ‘talking about meri desh being sold out to videshis of a faraway land.’ This is grassroots nationalism in action.

We espied a clutch of budding entrepreneurs, among them Dwijendralal Banerjee accompanied by his colleagues who came all the way from the far side of the E M bypass, braving a fever and a cough, and they were soon joined by a tad sweaty, and very neatly but unsuitably dressed for the Kolkata summer -- ties and jackets and formal trousers and all – young men and women, oh, maybe a couple of thousands of them, perhaps a bit more, who had left the drudge of seven-days-a-week-work and had emerged from the unease of the secluded comfort of the confines of air-conditioned alcoves IT offices in sector V of Salt Lake onto spaces open and sunny, and had rushed out to catch the marchers as the waves of people passed onto the Moulali crossing and then proceeded towards the Sealdah flyover.

There, the procession was hugely swelled as a very large number of unorganised workers, mostly mutia-mazdoors (headload carriers) and auto-rickshaw drivers and ‘mechanics,’ who joined in, shouting slogans, waving the Red Flag -- CITU banners held high as always. Khet mazdoor Paran Mondol appeared a bit bewildered. ‘How could these many men and women come and who called upon them to come out on a holiday, and how, babu?’ was his innocent enquiry.

He himself had come with a hundred-odd group of his fellow agricultural labourers from the extreme southern fringe of Kolkata buttressing south 24 Parganas that still harboured the clean and fresh of unending green stretches of rice paddies, from where the metro citizens have their steady supply of seasonal vegetables, and rice.

Why have you come, Paran? Well, dada, I understand the Delhiwallah’s government (ok, meaning understood, fully) is actually engaged in buying rice from videshis and allowing those ‘nasty’ (that was not the colourful Bengali invective he actually used, of course) ‘blackers’ of around here and there in the whole country in fact to get away with their ‘nasty’ (ditto) ways.

The march went on, on, and on – passing along A P C Bose Road. School students joined in somewhere along the line holding up banners that had photos of the eternal inspirational figure of Che Guevara and emblazoned with the immortal words ‘egobo, jotokhhon na jitbchhi!’ (onwards, until we achieve victory!’) The innumerable tableaux carried photos of a molly-coddling photo of Bush adoring Singh, and the other way around.

The marchers included black-jacketed lawyers, engineers, artistes, intellectuals, littératures, students from every tier of education, housewives, sports persons, film personalities, and above all the common man, the members of the toiling masses who shouted out anti-imperialist slogans from the core of their hearts and who made the procession come alive, made the march a living protest against imperialist forays and the betrayal of the people by the Singh government, and the people had the final say on this day and for all the days to come.

(INN)

THE HINDU, 2nd SEPT., 2008

Left rally against imperialism

Be wary of divisive forces: Biman Bose

KOLKATA:

The ruling Left Front on Monday organised a huge procession here against imperialism and in support of peace. Major arterial roads in the central and northern parts of the city went out of bounds to traffic.

“Anti-people” policies

The rallyists carried festoons and posters condemning the U.S.’ threats to India’s independent foreign policy and the United Progressive Alliance government’s “anti-people” economic policies, leading to rising prices of essential commodities and inflation. Some Ministers too joined the procession, which covered a distance of 8 km.

“People from all strata of society, even different sports organisations, have joined the march against imperialism and communalism,” said Biman Bose, Secretary of the CPI(M) State Committee.

Orissa violence

On the communal violence in Orissa, Mr. Bose said: “The Bharatiya Janata Party is not in power does not mean that communal forces are not active in the country.” He said the people of the country should be careful as divisive powers were still operative.

“Strengthen unity”

“We have to strengthen our unity to fight against U.S. which is trying to impose its wills on our country,” Mr. Bose said.

Rally at Siliguri

The protesters arrived in buses, trucks, mini-trucks and trains from all districts in South Bengal. A similar event was organised at Siliguri in north Bengal.

Road blockade

Mr. Bose said that many supporters from the Burdwan and Hooghly districts had to cancel their journey because of “the illegal road blockade by the Opposition party on the Durgapur Expressway at Singur, forcing people to take eight-hour detour to reach the city.”

FROM PRAJASHAKTI CORRESPONDENT:

People of Bengal witness historic anti-imperialist rally

Massive turnout as Lakhs of protesters marches through Kolkata streets echoing their anti-imperialist slogans: another rally also flooded north Bengal

Kolkata. September 01: The massive rally that Kolkata witnessed today, once again reiterated the Kolkata’s claim as the bastion of anti imperialist struggle. At the call of the left front committee of West Bengal Lakhs marched together in an honest bid to show their pro peace and anti imperialist sentiments. The rally started from Park Circus Ground at Central Kolkata at about 1 pm in the afternoon. Braving the hot and humid conditions thousands of sloganeering protesters marched through the heart of the city chanting slogans and holding colourful placards in their hands. The rally started from the Park Circus ground after a short meeting in a makeshift platform from where prominent Left Leaders including the Left Front chairman Biman Bose addressed the gathering twelve pigeons were released in the air by 12 leaders of the Left front in a symbolic gesture in favour of everlasting peace. The anti-imperialist campaigners started their walk in the prescribed route which was scheduled in such a manner as not to obstruct the traffic flow of the city. Expected that more than 2 lakhs people attended in this Grand rally. People of every walk of life today participated in this historical rally with great enthusiasm, where bidi workers of Murshidabad district walked in this rally with joining hands with coal workers of raniganj. Student-Youth-Workers-kishans-women- teacher-lawyers every section of society today added more colour in this anti-Imperialist rally. Total 13 districts of south Bengal participated in this rally today as like Kolkata, Siliguri also was flooded by the sea of people. In North Bengal another anti-imperialist grand rally was staged at Siliguri where about one lakh people from the 6 districts of North Bengal participated in this rally. This rally was stated from baghajatin Park area in Siliguri and concluded at Kanchanjangha stadium. Here urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya, CPI(M) Darjeeling district secretary S P Lepcha, Jalpaiguri District secretary Manik Sanyal led this rally, mentioning that even avoiding violent threaten of GJM activists, thousands of CPI(M) supporters, activists participated in this rally. Every Left Front MLAs, MPs, member of west Bengal cabinet were almost present in these two rally in Kolkata and Siliguri as per distribution.

The rally was marked by enthusiastic participation from large range of socio- political cultural and sports organisations like West Bengal Volleyball Association, sports organisations like ‘Friends of the Stadium” and cultural organisations like Panther Panchali, and many others. Abdul Barik a class 12 student of Karola High school in Ghatal of West Midnapore district, walked hand in hand with the eminent lawyers of Kolkata High Court who joined the rally as a part of their organisation Demiocratic Lawyers Forum . Huge number of students of Calcutta university and its different colleges marched in the rally under the banner of their organsation “SFI”.One such participant Avishek Dey & Arpita Chatterjee of Manindra Chandra College echoed the sentiments of the rally through expressive placards in their hand. Puspa Dutta an 82 years old woman ,a CPI(M) enthusiast was seen covering the whole stretch of the rally spanning over more than 6 KM’s ,with an arm wrapped over the shoulder of her younger comrade . It seemed that the whole rally was echoing the sentiments of the mass singer who singing for continuous peace and harmony among the different races . The anti –imperialist mood of the rally was also evident citizen workers and peasants walked hand in glove to defeat the forces of imperialism . The hatred of the common towards the US led forces was evident as the rallyist raised high pitched slogan s, voicing their opinion to cancel the upcoming naval strategic exercise in the Malabar coasts in Kerala . The vastness of the rally was evident from the fact that when the front portion of the rally have already reached the destination point at Desbandhu Park (North Kolkata)the tail was still waiting at the inception point of the rally at Park Circus grounds.

Addressing this huge attended rally, Today Left Front Chairman Biman Basu has stated that “ West Bengal always stand in front line in the battle against imperialist aggression, and today again people of Bengal echoed their voice against US imperialist force at the same marked they strong reaction against UPA incumbent those shamefully surrender before US imperialist force. Biman Basu also has added that “we, left parties already withdraw our outside support from this UPA incumbent, because we couldn’t extend our support to a government, those want to build up strategic relation with United States”. Mainly raising 22 point of slogans, this historic rally vibrated Kolkata Street with great commitment to carry out such pro-people, anti-imperialist and anti communal struggled under the banner of Red flag. Even renowned personalities, actor, actress, film director, famous magician P C Sarker, poet, intellectuals also present in this rally.

SUDIPTA BASU
1ST SEPETEMBER, 2008