Tata Motors' Rs one lakh car Nano project is still driving on bumpy streets, with the Supreme Court seeking to know why the West Bengal government acquired farm land for the project in Singur that has now become a site of a political battle between Mamta Banerjee's TMC and the ruling CPI-M combine.A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan while issuing notice to the company, the state government and the West Bengal State Industrial Development Corporation (WBSIDC) on Tuesday and posted the matter for further hearing in July.The apex court was hearing a petition filed by Kedar Nath Yadav, a practicing lawyer, who sought immediate halt of Tata Motors' project, although the Calcutta High Court had earlier upheld the land acquisition exercise.West Bengal had last year witnessed violent protests in Singur over acquisition of nearly 1,000 acres of land for setting up a factory to manufacture Nano, the world's cheapest car.The acquisition of fertile multi-crop agricultural land by the government in various parts of the state for Tata Motors' upcoming project, for Indonesia's Salim Group in Haldia and the Reliance group, was violative of farmers' rights guaranteed by the Constitution, Yadav's petition filed through Sarla Chandra stated.It also goes against the provisions of Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the petition said. Tata Motors, which proposes to roll out the world's cheapest car Nano from the Singur facility, submitted before the court that it had invested over Rs 1,000 crore in the project and any delay would increase the cost of the car.The company had earlier requested the apex court not to pass any orders on the petition without hearing it.
