By IANS,
Kolkata : A political solution was necessary before any decision on the Singur land, the West Bengal government said Wednesday, a day after the Tata Group said it would return the land if it was repaid the money spent to set up the now abandoned car plant.
“A political solution is necessary before taking any decision on the land,” state Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said on the sidelines of a programme here.
Auto major Tata Motors pulled out its small car Nano project from Singur, 40 km from here, last October following an agitation against land acquisition by farmers and the main opposition Trinamool Congress.
Before withdrawing from Singur, Tata Group chairman Ratan N. Tata said the company had pumped in Rs.1,500 crore into the project.
Singur had turned into a battleground since May 2006 after the state’s Left Front government announced the project to manufacture the world’s least expensive car, priced at Rs.100,000 or $2,200.
Trinamool Congress-led protestors demanded 400 acres – of the 997.11 acres acquired – be restored to farmers, claiming the tract was taken from them forcibly. Finally, Tata Motors moved the car project to Gujarat.
Asked if the state had any concrete plans for the land, Sen said it did not have one till now and any such future plans would be communicated to all.
Tata said Tuesday: “If they (the government) compensate the total investment we put into the land, we may return it.”
“Right now, there are no plans regarding the Singur land. But we don’t wish to sit on it,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of group company Tata Tea here.
Sen said Wednesday the Singur plot was acquired for industrial purposes and his government was keen on implementing projects there. “We haven’t got any project offer for that land yet,” he added.