Nano vendors rule out return of land
The land hunt inside the Tata Nano complex for Singur's farmers could get messier. Mamata Banerjee may be gunning for 300 acres inside the complex, but the Nano vendors are determined to spoil her party.
On Wednesday, some 20-odd vendors informed the West Bengal government that they were not in a position to either return the land to local farmers or relocate their units elsewhere in Singur.
Their stand comes on the heels of Tata Motors' insistence on "the integral nature" of the Nano complex, wherein the mother plant and the vendor park have to be next to each other.
State government sources told: "The vendors have written to us that construction work at their units has reached an advanced stage and therefore it would not be possible for them to either give land or relocate their units elsewhere."
Sources indicated that the joint committee set up to thrash out the Singur land return formula is also taking legal advise to ascertain whether it is possible to return land acquired by the state for public purpose. Incidentally, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 bars the state government from returning land acquired for public purpose.
A section of legal eagles, however, feel the possibility of returning land to farmers by the state government can also be interpreted as "land given for public purpose" and can be explored to sort out the land return issue.
State government sources said out of the 55 vendors, more than 30 have already started construction at the site. "If we have to relocate our plants, it will be difficult for us to absorb the accompanying financial hit. More than 80% work at our unit is complete," said a senior official of Caparo Engineering, one of the leading vendors of Nano.
[Via: Economictimes]