Two days prior to the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Singur on 30 November, the new state Agriculture Minister, Becharam Manna was seen attending to landless farmers, waiting to receive their quota of cheap rice and monthly stipend–hitherto promised by the Trinamool Congress Government .
The Chief Minister had promised to pay a stipend of Rs 1,000 to the ‘unwilling farmers’ of Singur at an event marking the Trinamool Congress government’s one year in power. The money was doubled later to Rs 2000 since Banerjee’s election promise of returning land to the farmers was stuck in legal wrangles. But the farmers have only got Rs 1,000 each for May and June, and nothing since then.
Banerjee tried to keep her promise by passing the historic Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill in the Assembly (2011) which could have led to the returning of the 400 acres of land to the farmers unwilling to part with their land when the CPIM led govt forcibly acquired it in 2006 for setting up a Tata small car plant. But subsequently the Tatas challenged the validity of this law and the court ruled the Act as null and void.
The Chief Minister had promised to pay a stipend of Rs 1,000 to the ‘unwilling farmers’ of Singur at an event marking the Trinamool Congress government’s one year in power. The money was doubled later to Rs 2000 since Banerjee’s election promise of returning land to the farmers was stuck in legal wrangles. But the farmers have only got Rs 1,000 each for May and June, and nothing since then.
Banerjee tried to keep her promise by passing the historic Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill in the Assembly (2011) which could have led to the returning of the 400 acres of land to the farmers unwilling to part with their land when the CPIM led govt forcibly acquired it in 2006 for setting up a Tata small car plant. But subsequently the Tatas challenged the validity of this law and the court ruled the Act as null and void.