Mamata's ordinance on Singur land

Mamata Banerjee's government on Thursday passed an ordinance to reclaim 400 acres of the 997.11-acre land at the deserted Tata Motors’ site to return it to farmers “unwilling” to part with it. Mamata called it a “historic day for Singur”. Governor M K Narayanan has put his seal on the ‘Land Development Ordinance.’ Yet again, a Mamata masterstroke has rejuvenated this controversy-ridden land when it seemed to have reached a dead end after the exit of the Nano. It was this fight that propelled Mamata to an unprecedented victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha election and the landslide win in the assembly this May. Now, Mamata has made it clear she intends to keep her word. The purpose of the ordinance is to return 400 acres to farmers who “unwillingly” parted with their land and leave the other 600 acres for industry. Aware of the legal implications, Mamata said the government was ready to compensate the Tatas by way of arbitration. “The governor has signed the ordinance. Now, we can return 400 acres to unwilling farmers,” Mamata said at Writers’ Buildings. She stressed the land was “re-acquired” for public purpose and that would become apparent when the ordinance was made public. The CM’s move hinges on a letter Tata Motors had written to the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government in December 2009 after then chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarty urged them to return the land. The company said it would do so if it was compensated. According to industries department officials, the government’s deal with the Tatas had a clause that the company would have to return the land within three years from getting possession if it failed to start operations. Tata Motors took possession of the land in December 2006. Tata officials, however, have been saying the government could not ensure proper working conditions, which prompted them to move the Nano plant to Sanand in Gujarat. “We have gone through the letters from the Tatas demanding compensation for the land. We shall set up an arbitration panel to decide on the amount of compensation. If Tatababu wants, he can set up industry on the remaining 600 acres at Singur,” Mamata said. Tata Motors reserved its comment on the ordinance. “We are not aware of such a development. We can comment only after going through the ordinance,” a Tata Motors official said. But why the hurry? The government could have given Tata Motors the scope to return the land, part or whole, against the promised compensation, senior lawyers say. The CM said: “We had to pass the ordinance because the assembly is not in session. The state cabinet has already approved the decision. When the assembly starts (on June 24) we shall proceed with the Bill.” State law minister Moloy Ghatak said: “This ordinance is on the amendment of the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The amendment bill will be passed in the forthcoming assembly session.” Although the ordinance will be valid for six months, officials said the Land Acquisition Act (Amendment) Bill 2011 will be passed in the monsoon session of the assembly and sent for the President’s nod. The ordinance amends Section 48 of the Act, introducing a new clause. It has three subsections. The first relates to the return of acquired land to the original owner. The second is for multiple claimants, for whom the plots will be identified through a survey. The third enables the government to provide alternative plots of equal size in the vicinity.