Mamata opts for Singur-specific land acquisition bill

KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has finally decided to table a Singur-specific land acquisition bill in the state assembly to overcome delays in amending existing laws and other legal hurdles.

Copies of the proposed bill, which was reviewed by ET on Sunday, have been sent to members of the state legislature. It will be a Singur-specific law and will not be applicable to other similar cases. Once the bill is passed, farmers of Singur will be given rights of possession of land that is returned to them.

Farmers will not get land ownership. Also, there will be no auction of the land that will be returned, a mandatory feature as per the Central Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The government will decide on the final allotment.