Singur land vested, not acquired, claims Bengal government

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government on Friday claimed before the Calcutta High Court that it has vested the Singur land and not acquired it.

Advocate General Anindya Mitra on Friday submitted before Justice I P Mukerji that the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 provides for vesting of the land and that it has been enacted under Section 18 of the State list.

Claiming that it has got nothing to do with the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, Mitra submitted that it was a separate Act by which the state can vest the land.

Replying to the challenge by Tata Motors Ltd of the Singur Act, he submitted that the two acts - the Singur Act and the Land Acquisition Act - were two different subjects of legislation.

He submitted that the state has not acquired the Singur land from TML as claimed by it, but has vested it under the new Act.

Mitra submitted that when the Singur Act was made, TML had already abandoned the land where it was to set up a plant for rolling out Nano cars.

The matter would come up for hearing again on Monday.