Ever since the Tata Motors were given the land for car plant in early 2007, they have made fantastic progress in erecting the plant and the first car is likely to roll out from the factory in about two months time. Priced at about $2500, this is going to be cheapest car of the world.
However, the principal opposition Trinamul Congress led by Mamata Banerjee has opposed the Tata Motors project right from the beginning. She says that about 400 acres of land must be returned to the non-consenting farmers.
1000 acres of land were acquired under Land Acquisition Act of India and 130% of the market prices were given to the farmers. But a section of farmers led by her have refused to accept money saying that ‘Industry or no Industry,’ they would not give the land at any price whatsoever.
Mamata Banerjee has even staged hunger strike for 24 days on the issue and won over a section of farmers from the CPI(M) as the recently held election results of rural polls showed. Bolstered by these results, she is trying to unleash a ‘political terror’ by opposing the various land take over by the West Bengal government for Industrial revival of West Bengal.
The Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya and Industries Minister Nirupom Sen says that the land taken from unwilling farmers are so scattered that giving the land back means packing up the Tata Motors plant altogether.
Bengal government is ready to consider giving more monetary compensations to the farmers, give them rehabilitation package, give them equal or better quality land nearby. But Mamata Banerjee will not relent. It appears she is hell bent to pack up the Tata Motors Plant.
The General Manager Ravi Kant of Tata Motors was so disgusted that he commented, “ It is the people of West Bengal who will have to decide whether they want Industry in Bengal or not”.
Mamata recently has given a call to block and lay a siege of the Tata Motors Plant at Singur on and from 24th August for an indefinite period. Already one full battalion of police force is guarding the 24hours construction work going on at the site. Amid mounting tensions, government is contemplating reinforcing the strength by another half-battalion.
The intentions of Mamata are clear. Having failed to dislodge the CPI(M) from power over the last three decades, she has now resorted to destructive politics. She knows very well that CPI(M) is well entrenched in rural areas of Bengal. Industry needs land. Land is scares in Bengal. So if the farmers can be incited against land acquisition, she stands a good chance to capture power. Industry means little or nothing to her at this juncture.