A year on, Singur picks up the pieces

It's an anniversary Singur would like to forget. On October 3 last year, Tata Motors pulled the massive Nano car project out of Bengal, leaving behind the rubble of dashed hopes and falling real estate prices.

A year later, land prices are less than half the peak levels of Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) an acre, closer to the state government compensation of Rs 9-12 lakh (Rs 900,000 to 1.2 million) an acre for those who gave up land for the project, said a state government official.

"Those who had bought land in 2007-08, are unable to sell their land. Some had bought it by investing their entire savings at one go," said a senior official from Singur. As Tata Motors started constructing the factory in 2007-2008, several small and medium entrepreneurs started preparing blueprints for projects like housing complex, hotels and other commercial real estate projects surrounding the complex.

But all is not lost. The dust is gradually settling and Singur is learning to cope with the new reality. There are more than nine banks in the Singur block, the highest concentration in any block in rural Bengal. Most of these had opened branches to tap corporate clients, who would have worked with the Nano factory. But banks have taken the disappointment in their stride and now more than 90 per cent of loan disbursements are for agriculture.

Axis Bank, for example, says its branch has reached break-even point and is also profitable. "We had opened a branch in Singur with high expectations, and we hoped to have corporate clients. But after the Tata pullout, things changed. Now we are heavily into agri-lending, with 98 per cent of advances to the agriculture sector," said Debkumar Som, assistant vice-president and branch head of the Axis branch in Singur.

Even State Bank of India had opened a branch in Singur to tap corporate clients. It has also shifted gears towards agriculture lending. All the bank branches opened during 2007-2008 in the area are still functioning, the driving force being the strong agricultural base of Singur, where farming is the mainstay for a majority. Farmers and traders have profited from the spike in potato prices this season. There are about seven cold storages in Singur.

"This year, the boom has been due to a phenomenal rise in potato prices. As a result, the average consumer spending has gone up. We have seen an increase in fixed deposits in the last few months, with most customers from potato traders," said Som.

Buoyed by the success, Axis Bank introduced secured credit cards, linked to fixed deposits in the Singur branch. It has so far issued 500 credit cards in Singur, and is now actively marketing other financial products like insurance schemes.

Singur is also living on the hope of an industrial estate. Becharam Manna, convenor, Krishi Jami Raksha Committee, backed by the Trinamool Congress, said party head Mamata Banerjee, now a Union cabinet minister, was in discussions at various levels for a solution to Singur and it would happen before the assembly elections in 2011.

"The land will be returned to unwilling farmers," said Manna. Banerjee's agitation last year for the return of 400 acres that belonged to unwilling farmers of the total 997 acres acquired ultimately led to the pullout. Banerjee has maintained that industry could come up on the remaining land in Singur.

The state government, which puts the disputed land figure at 181 acres, also believes that nothing is possible in Singur without a political solution. The state's commerce and industry minister, Nirupam Sen, could not say how such a solution would come about. But since Singur, the state has fine-tuned its policy for land acquisition with a focus on rehabilitation, land-for-land being the most important feature.

However, says Sen, "Rehabilitation is not a solution for Singur. That was not what the Opposition demanded."