Singur stir is off; Nano may be on track

KOLKATA: In one of the biggest political coups for the call of the industry, West Bengal drafted history late on Sunday night when the government announced that it has decided to give maximum land to farmers in order to meet the demands of Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee.

���It���s a big win for us,��� Mamata announced subsequently. A committee has been formed that will go into the details of how much can actually be provided for. This will take about a week. During this time, the state government has requested vendors to keep construction work in abeyance. Mamata has declared that she will suspend the agitaiton at Singur till the committee files its report.



Throughout the process, the West Bengal government has shown remarkable willingness, administratively and politically to resolve the crisis at whatever cost. During the past few days, many a time did an extremely hassled chief minister need to consult party colleagues on nuances of the meeting. And everytime that Mamata came up with a fresh demand, the government bent backwards to accommodate her.

A late-night statement issued at Raj Bhavan by the governor notes: ���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 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 week. During this time, the government will urge the vendors not to make any constructions. Ms 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.���

When contacted, Tata Motors officials declined to comment, saying ���they had not heard from the West Bengal government���. Only time will tell how the Tatas respond to the state government���s decision to offer land beyond the 47.11 acres held by the WBIDC within the Nano complex to the farmers. Sources close to the company have all along maintained that the mother plant and the vendor park need to be adjacent to each other for the Nano project to remain viable. While the Tatas remain silent on the landmark developments at Raj Bhavan, a top industry source close to developments told ET: ���It may not really make sense for the Tatas to offer land beyond the 47-odd acres within the Nano compound. A decision can transpire only after Tata Motors hears from the government and it gets a sense of how the committee proposes to address the land return issue.���

While details remain under wraps, here���s how government insiders summed up the crux of the gruelling Buddha-Mamata talks. Both leaders have agreed to the formation of a committee to thrash out a handsome land-based rehabilitation package for Singur���s landlosers. Earlier, while both leaders had agreed to maintain status quo on the unused portion of land set aside for the 290 acre-vendor park within the Nano complex, talks suffered a setback mid-way when minutes after her first round of talks with the CM, Mamata demanded that status quo be maintained on the entire 290 acres earmarked for the vendor park.

Significantly, the four-member committee that will be headed by a Trinamool leader will look into two aspects. The first involves identification of farm lands outside the perimeter of the Tata Nano complex for farmers who���ve so far refused to accept the state compensation. Significantly, Mamata Banerjee is learnt to have agreed that local Trinamool panchayat leaders in Singur would help identify such plots that will be acquired and financed by the state government.