Mamata shuts down Kolkata as Left locks in land for the Tatas

The Tata Motors small-car project at Singur, announced on May 19 this year by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Ratan Tata, got into its second — and most crucial — stage on Friday, with the government beginning the fencing of the land acquired for the Tatas.

The government expects to hand over the land within a few days, having successfully tackled all controversies over the acquisition of farmland.

As Kolkata shut down in a knee-jerk reaction to Friday’s bandh call (this one by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress), it was a busy day for the administration and the village folk in and around Singur.

The administration has deployed around 1500 workers to plant 8-10-ft long wooden stakes around the 8-km perimeter, and then put up a wire-mesh barrier.

Around 600 policemen and policewomen, drawn from the Armed Police, the India Reserve Battalion and the local police, formed a meandering line or huddled in groups near their senior officers, not really expecting any action since the so-called opponents of the project mouthed abusive slogans from the other side of a muddy ditch.

The slogan-shouters had set off a few loud crackers in the morning. That had been the only excitement of the day, as the workers supervised by district officials methodically laid around 3 km of fencing in the part dominated by the CPI(M) supporters.

The police, led by NR Babu, deputy inspector general in charge of the Midnapore range, were armed with semi-automatic weapons, special sticks and tear gas, their officers with side-arms. Babu was at the forefront of the tension line.

A few hundred yards away, where the planting work was going on, stood Debasish Som, managing director of West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC), and MV Rao, director of industries. Som, looking satisfied with the day’s progress, said: “Work is progressing peacefully, there is no trouble,” said Som.

The block development officer, Abhijit Ganguly, was not worried by the angry people on the other side of the canal, or about any protestors, for that matter. “They will run away the moment the police starts moving,” he said. Som said he would deploy more people on Saturday to get the work completed within three days.

The status so far

• Total land required for the Rs 1-lakh car project: 997 acres

• Land already acquired by the state: 997 acres

• Consent letters received from farmers on acquisition: 927 acres.

• Compensatoin package: Single crop: Rs. 6.8 lakh per acre; Double crop : Rs 8 lakh per acre

• Compensation money already disbursed to farmers: Rs 76 crore (60-65% of land losers)

• Deadline set by Tatas for manufacturing: mid-2008