By IANS,
Kolkata: Industry forum Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) Tuesday said the West Bengal government should only play the role of facilitator while acquiring land for industrial projects.
“The state should play the role of facilitator in land acquisition matters, which should be left to the buyers and sellers,” said Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat at a press meet.
The state has witnessed violent agitations over land acquisition in Singur and Nandigram, which snowballed into political issues that played a major role in the drubbing that the ruling Left Front received in elections to rural and civic bodies as well as the Lok Sabha polls.
Singur, 40 km from here, turned into a battleground since May 2006 after the state government announced that auto major Tata Motors would set up the Nano small car project there.
Protesters, led by the state’s main opposition party Trinamool Congress, demanded the return of 400 acres — of the 997.11 acres acquired for the Nano project — to farmers.
The agitation forced Tata Motors to relocate the plant to Gujarat in October 2008.
Apart from Singur, the party also forced the shifting of a chemical hub project from Nandigram to Nayachar island off East Midnapore district.