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Respite in Singur

The withdrawal of the siege by activists of the Trinamool Congress of the Tata Motors factory in Singur marks a tentative first step towards a satisfactory resolution of the issues relating to land acquisition and compensation that have plagued the Nano car project right from the start. That the agitators who had been protesting for two weeks in front of the factory complex, threatening to derail the car project of the Tatas, have agreed to suspend their sit-in is in itsel f a welcome development. But the limited agreement reached between West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in the presence of West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi will need to be built upon if normal work on the car project is to resume. After repeatedly upping the ante, Ms Banerjee mellowed only after the Tata Group chairman, Ratan Tata, threatened to pull out of Singur, and the factory employees continued to stay away from work. At the crux of the controversy is the fact that the owners of 305.47 acres of the 997.11 acres of land that had been acquired for the car project refused to accept the compensation offered by the government. According to the agreement that has resulted from the Governor’s intervention, the government has now referred to a committee the possibility of giving land from within the project area as compensation to those who have turned down the monetary compensation.

The committee comprising representatives of the two sides has to decide within a week the scope and the modalities of land-based compensation. Tata Motors has made it clear that its requirement is that the ancillary units should be in close proximity to the main plant to ensure the financial viability of the project. This is essential if Nano is to live up to the promise of being the cheapest car, costing only Rs. one lakh. For the farmers who have lost land to the project, the compensation demanded is in the form of land from within the project area. In such a situation, there are obvious difficulties in forging a compromise. Quite understandably, Tata Motors has pointed to the “limited clarity” on the outcome of these discussions and has said it would not resume construction or commission work at the plant unless satisfied “that the viability of the project is not being impinged.” Mr. Gandhi has done his best in bringing the warring sides to the negotiating table. Given that she claims that she wants the car project in Singur, Ms Banerjee will have to push for a meaningful solution that will not jeopardise the Nano while giving the landowners their due.

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