Singur Tata plant: SC strikes down land acquisition, orders govt to return land in 12 weeks

Farmers who got compensation from the govt will not return it because they were deprived of their livelihood for the last ten years, the court said.

The Supreme Court of India

Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside Calcutta High Court order upholding the land acquisition by West Bengal government in 2006 to felicitate Tata Motors to set up a plant in Singur. The court also directed the state government to take possession of the land and distribute it to the owners within 12 weeks.

Farmers who got compensation from the govt will not return it because they were deprived of their livelihood for the last ten years, the court said.

The land was acquired by the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government in 2006 to facilitate the Tatas to set up its Nano car manufacturing plant.

 The Tata group was given around a thousand acres by the state government in 2006 to build a car manufacturing factory, but in the wake of violent protests from the Trinamool Congress Party, the project was shelved.

Soon after coming to power in 2011, CM Mamata Banerjee passed a law to take over the land and forced the Tata’s to move their project out of the state to Gujarat’s Sanad district.

Tata Motors moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the law. The acquisition of the land was upheld by a trial court and the law passed by the Trinamool Congress-led state government was declared unconstitutional on appeal.