SINGUR: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s struggle came a full circle after 10 years and five months on Thursday when she handed over 90 acres of the total 997.11 acres of land acquired by the then Left government for Tata's car project to 2,216 farmers and initiated the process of physical handover of land to the farmers.
“Of the 997.11 acres, the land is fit for agriculture in 932 acres. In some 65 acres, concrete structures have to be removed. The process of land return would be completed by November 10,” the TMC supremo said after symbolically commencing agriculture by sprinkling mustard seeds on the land.
Land records to all the 10,436 farmers and 800 cheques to uncompensated land-losers were distributed on September 14.
“Singur would be a model for land struggle for the rest of the world. A monument for the Singur farmers would be built here,” she said.
Recalling her 26-day hunger strike, the West Bengal Chief Minister said, “Back on September 24, 2006, I had just asked about transparency in cheque distribution and we were attacked. Later, it has come to fore during survey that bogus cheques were issued then.”
Education Minister and Mamata’s close aide Partha Chatterjee said, “Mamata’s 26 days of hunger strike, 14 days of dharna and martyrdom of 10 people have not gone waste.”
Likening Singur land struggle with pre-independence Tebhaga movement, Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Subrata Mukherjee said, “The struggle was of Mamata Banerjee, the victory is of Singur farmers.”
The Supreme Court had on August 31 ordered that Tata acquired land in Singur to be returned back to the farmers within 12 weeks.The bench also ruled that the land acquisition process in Singur for the car project was faulty and was not for public purpose.
"Most of the portion of the Nano car shed has been razed to the ground. Only a small structure is left which will also be demolished in next few days," a senior state government official said.