Supreme Court quashes Singur land acquisition for Tatas, orders return of all plots

KOLKATA: Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday posted on Facebook that she shed "tears of joy" after learning about the Singur verdict that ordered the return of the land. "The historic verdict of the Hon'ble Supreme Court is a landmark victory of Maa-Mati-Manush, a landslide victory of the people.... Today is a day that brings tears of joy in my eyes," the chief minister said. Mamata could not have chosen a figure of speech with a better mix: in her "landslide" hour of joyous vindication, a tearful question was lurking on the fringes whether it would make the task of bringing industry to Bengal all the more difficult.

The politician in Mamata has every right to celebrate what must rank as one of the most spectacular victories in the trench warfare. She will do so at 4pm on September 14 in Singur after holding an administrative meeting for Hooghly district. Couched in the congratulatory and cautious statements from some business chambers was one sentiment: relief that the Singur monkey is off the back and whether Mamata would use the clean slate as an opportunity to revive industrialisation. Then there was the fine print: apprehension whether the verdict will open a Pandora's box nationwide and whether the notorious red-tape culture will take deeper roots when it comes to land acquisition. A fear more pertinent to Bengal was whether big investors would view the state as a risky and unpredictable terrain where even a government endorsement cannot be treated as foolproof. The chief minister is visiting Germany next week to scout for investments in Bengal, especially in the very same automobile sector where Tata Motors is a player. Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement: "Any industrial activity must be in sync with the laws of the land. The judgment gives a direction." It added: "The chamber feels that this landmark judgment will have impact on the whole country and one in which the government of West Bengal has triggered an issue which has a national impact. The long-term impact on industrialisation will have to be assessed." MCCI president Manish Goenka said he was pleased with the Supreme Court verdict and he "saluted" Mamata Banerjee for her defence of the rights of poor farmers. "At the same time, the state is in need of investments and we hope that the government of West Bengal will devise a way to attract investments in Singur," he added. As the court has ordered the return of all the land acquired for the Nano - as against Mamata's original plan to restore plots to only those who were not willing to part with the land - the possibility of industry coming up in Singur looks remote as of now. Still a section of industrialists said they were happy. "Today's judgment brings closure to the decade-long dispute. Both the Tata Group and Mamata Banerjee government should now take this opportunity for a new beginning. The Supreme Court has given a clean slate. Blame it on the Left government and move forward," said a city-based industrialist. Another said that explained properly, the verdict has the potential to remove the anti-industry tag on the chief minister as the Supreme Court order has vindicated her stand that the process -not the objective of industrialisation and job generation - was flawed. The crux of the verdict was procedural deficiencies in the acquisition of 1,000-odd acres that Tata Motors needed for the plant. "The judgment is a victory for due process," summarised Debanjan Mondal of solicitor firm Fox & Mondal. Among several points highlighted in the verdict, the key point was the use of a provision (Part II) in the now-replaced land acquisition act that dealt with acquisition for government projects instead of a provision (Part VII) meant for private companies. "The objective of the Left government was to attract industry when competition from other states was stiff and create jobs. Hence, they did not consider it as a private initiative. One of the two Supreme Court judges, however, held a different view.... But in Bengal, most acquisitions for private projects were done invoking Part II of the 1894 Land Acquisition Act. Now, what if these acquisitions are challenged?" asked a lawyer who did not wish to be named. Although the Mamata government has steered clear of land acquisition after coming to power, it has lent its weight behind several private projects for which land was acquired during the Left regime. "The Part VII of the act was very rarely invoked. In most cases, Part II was used for acquisition.... If the government's objective is industrialisation of the state, invoking of Part II cannot be questioned, especially in a state that is often accused of being slow and bureaucratic," said a lawyer who specialises on land matters. "Industry now has to be extra careful about taking up government land. After all, Tata Motors did not acquire the Singur land itself. It took up the lease in good faith and made investments," said an industrialist. Being a land-scarce state characterised by small holdings, if acquisition of land becomes more problematic, it will be bad news for industry in Bengal, said another industrialist. Bengal government officials have talked about the availability of 3 lakh acres in the land bank. "While the parks may be good for smaller projects, big-ticket manufacturing needs large chunk of contiguous land," said an industrialist, listing the challenge before Mamata. But the immediate problem will be to thrash out the administrative formalities to return the land. Mamata said a meeting would be held tomorrow to finalise the course of action. It is also not clear how much of the land will be cultivable as a part of it has concrete structures. (Additional reporting by Sambit Saha) -The Telegraph Calcutta