Mamata Victorius in SINGUR!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a major victory for West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee when the Calcutta High Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Singur Land and Rehabilitation and Developmental Act, 2011 which was challenged by Tata Motors. The judgment was delivered by the single bench of Justice I.P. Mukherjee, who inter alia held that the act was constitutional and valid. According to the court, compensation enshrined in sections 23 and 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

 The verdict says: “Furthermore. The application has to be determined by award of compensation by the District Judge, Hughly, within six months of making such application by the Tatas. Furthermore, If the government admits any compensation in its rejoinder to the application to be filed by the Tatas, the government should pay that compensation immediately, since it has been the possession of the land”. The judge allowed the Tatas time until November 2 to appeal against the judgment.

The previous CPI (M)-led Left front Government had acquired 997.11 acres of land in Singur in Hughly district for Tata motors’ prestigious Nano project. It had also leased out the land to Tata motors, which had started construction there. But, of the 130000 land losers, around 2200. Owning a total of about 400 acres, refused to collect the compensation cheques from the state government. Under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, they began a protracted and violent agitation, causing the Tatas to abandon the project before completion in October 2008. Subsequently, Tata Motors shifted the project to Gujarat.

Following the victory of the Trinamool Congress led alliance in the Assembly Elections in may this year, the Government formulated the Singur Land and Rehabilitation and Developmental Bill, 2011, to facilitate the return of the land to the “unwilling farmers”- which was one of the Mamata’s main pre poll commitments. As soon as the bill received the assent from the Governor, the government declared that it had taken possession of the Land and pasted a notice on the factory gates directing immediate restoration of “ vacant possession of land in the name of District Magistrate Hooghly” on June 21. The Tatas moved the High Court the very next day. The principle objections of the Tatas were that the State Act was unconditional since it infringed upon the provisions of the existing Central Act of 1894 regarding land acquisition, which is in the concurrent list of the constitution. According to Tata motors, the State Act  have been valid if it had the President’s assent, but no such assent had been taken. Secondly, it maintained that it did not voluntarily “abandon” the project but was forced to shift because of difficult conditions, “amidst violence, disruption of activities, damage to property, threats to personnel”.

The Tatas also contended that the State Act did not specify the compensation amount or the principle according to which losses suffered by the company could be determined. The Tata Motors claimed that they had invested a huge amount for the infrastructure. But Kalyan Banerjee, Trinamool MP stated that the State Act did not intended for land acquisition but the act is an emanation of the state governments power enshrined in Item number 18 of the State List( List II) of the Constitution. it was also stated that the State Government was only a lessee and there is no question of acquisition of ownership of title.

For Mamata, the verdict was particularly significant, as it was her relentless agitation for the return of the land for the “unwilling farmers” that paved the way for her political comeback in 2006 and ultimately her victory in the Assembly Elections 2011, making her the first Chief Minister of the State.

Her stand against forcible land acquisition won her the confidence of the vast rural majority and she began to be perceived as a sort f savior of farmers. In fact, the drafting of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill was the first major legislative venture of her Government. The judgment coincided with the result of the Bhowanipoore Assembly by-election, which she won with a thumping majority. However. It is unlikely that the court verdict marks the end of the Singur saga as the Tatas may continue the legal battle.