SINGUR, a small town in Hoogly district of West Bengal is in the news for a little more than a year now. With a population of over 20,000 and a literacy rate of nearly 80 per cent, which is much higher than the national average, the ruling party is finding it quite tough to handle the present situation with the residents going against the land acquisition, which is to be used for a car-manufacturing unit.

 

It may be mentioned that CPI (M), the ruling party in the state had acquired 997 acres of multi crop land required for a car factory to be constructed by TATA motors.

 

The acquisition has drawn huge protests from opposition parties who want to grab every opportunity provided by the situation and the farmers in general, who are worried about losing their land and procuring the next meal for themselves and their families.

 

 

The ruling party has its argument well in place. It says that land is a scarce resource in West Bengal. And the state has also borne the brunt of partition along with Punjab. Large-scale influx continued till 1971 from across the border. The result is the population density of the state has risen to 906 per square kilometre.

 

Given the overall economic situation in the state and the compulsions of further economic progress, the Left Front decided on a vigorous push towards the commissioning of new industries particularly in the manufacturing sector to be of utmost need.

 

The land being not fertile enough to support agriculture, the ruling party in its election manifesto had stated that any land if acquired for building infrastructure, the farmers would be given appropriate compensation, rehabilitation if facing loss of home, and arrangement for alternative work.

 

According to a report released by the government of west Bengal, a total of 997.11 acres of land was acquired on December 31, 2006. The process of land acquisition in Singur began with the publication of notifications under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894. Payment of compensation in accordance with the award began on September 25, 2006 and is still continuing.

 

 

Cashing in on the situation, the opposition parties seem to be playing with the emotions of the farmers who are already reeling under the pressure of their land being taken away for the construction of the factory.

 

Mamta Banerjee, Trinamool Congress supreme, has indulged in ongoing histrionics over the Singur issue and has recharged her ammunition at the expense of the victims of Nandigram. The Bharatiya Janata Dal (BJP) expressed outrage over the casualties in the tiny town and repeatedly brought parliamentary proceedings to a halt on the issue.

 

 

The Singur imbroglio took a tragic turn when the government of West Bengal sent in police force that opened fire on villagers who were agitated by the acquisition of their agricultural land. Fourteen people died in the police firing and scores of others were injured. This tragic turn of events further aggravated and is still continuing in the area.

 

 

The small car to be manufactured by TATA motors is scheduled to roll out of the factory by 2008. It is expected that the small car will mark a watershed in the global automobile industry. Singur again would become a mini-auto city. More than 70 vendors will be able to set up shops along with the factory. The project brings in an investment of Rs 1,000 crore to Singur. The project will also generate additional revenue of about Rs. 450 crores for the State Government and employment for over 7,500 people.