SC gives relief to Mamata, stays HC verdict on Singur
25 Aug 2012 6:21 AM IST
In what is being seen as a shot in the arm for Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, the Supreme Court stayed a judgement of the Calcutta high court on the Singur land issue on Friday and served a notice to Tata Motors.
The West Bengal government had moved the Supreme Court against a judgement by the Calcutta high court that ruled that the legislation passed by the West Bengal assembly to repossess the land allotted to Tata Motors was 'constitutionally invalid'. The judgement had come as a blow to the Trinamool chief. Friday's Supreme Court notice offers reprieve to the Banerjee’s government.
The Trinamool Congress came to power last year on the promise of returning the land acquired for a car factory from unwilling farmers of Singur to the owners. Soon after the formation of the new government, a law was passed which enabled the state government to do take possession of land.
At the completion of her first year in power in May, Banerjee had admitted that the ongoing Singur case was her government’s 'only failure', as the land was fraught with legal battles with the Tatas.
A total of 997 acres of land in Singur was given to the Tatas for the Nano car factory project by the previous Left Front government in 2006, triggering huge protests, led by Mamata Banerjee and supported by various civil society groups. Of the 13,000 owners of land, about 2,000 had rejected the compensation for about 400 acres of land, leading to the protests.
The high court ruling had said the Tatas could claim compensation according to the provisions of the land acquisition law of 1894 because it was under that law the land was given to the Tatas.
The verdict by a division bench of the Calcutta high court, comprising Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Mrinal Kanti Chaudhuri, had declared the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, as unconstitutional and void.
Welcoming the court order, the chief minister said, 'I am very happy that the Supreme Court gave this order. I am giving two thousand rupees per month to Singur agricultural labourers and landless labourers and farmers. We are also giving two kilogrammes of rice at the rate of Rs 2 per kilogramme to them. They are happy. I want them to get their land back. The landless labourers must also get their compensation.'
Banerjee said on her Facebook page, 'I am so happy today to hear the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on Singur Land Case. It is a victory of the long struggle of the poor land-losers not only of Singur, but also of those in the entire country. It is a victory of my 26 day long hunger strike, during which I was about to die.'
Tata Motors pulled out of Singur in October 2008 and moved their Nano project to Gujarat. The company claims to have invested over Rs 1,500 crore in Singur and wants compensation.
The West Bengal government had moved the Supreme Court against a judgement by the Calcutta high court that ruled that the legislation passed by the West Bengal assembly to repossess the land allotted to Tata Motors was 'constitutionally invalid'. The judgement had come as a blow to the Trinamool chief. Friday's Supreme Court notice offers reprieve to the Banerjee’s government.
The Trinamool Congress came to power last year on the promise of returning the land acquired for a car factory from unwilling farmers of Singur to the owners. Soon after the formation of the new government, a law was passed which enabled the state government to do take possession of land.
At the completion of her first year in power in May, Banerjee had admitted that the ongoing Singur case was her government’s 'only failure', as the land was fraught with legal battles with the Tatas.
A total of 997 acres of land in Singur was given to the Tatas for the Nano car factory project by the previous Left Front government in 2006, triggering huge protests, led by Mamata Banerjee and supported by various civil society groups. Of the 13,000 owners of land, about 2,000 had rejected the compensation for about 400 acres of land, leading to the protests.
The high court ruling had said the Tatas could claim compensation according to the provisions of the land acquisition law of 1894 because it was under that law the land was given to the Tatas.
The verdict by a division bench of the Calcutta high court, comprising Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Mrinal Kanti Chaudhuri, had declared the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, as unconstitutional and void.
Welcoming the court order, the chief minister said, 'I am very happy that the Supreme Court gave this order. I am giving two thousand rupees per month to Singur agricultural labourers and landless labourers and farmers. We are also giving two kilogrammes of rice at the rate of Rs 2 per kilogramme to them. They are happy. I want them to get their land back. The landless labourers must also get their compensation.'
Banerjee said on her Facebook page, 'I am so happy today to hear the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on Singur Land Case. It is a victory of the long struggle of the poor land-losers not only of Singur, but also of those in the entire country. It is a victory of my 26 day long hunger strike, during which I was about to die.'
Tata Motors pulled out of Singur in October 2008 and moved their Nano project to Gujarat. The company claims to have invested over Rs 1,500 crore in Singur and wants compensation.
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