The land taken by Tata Motors at Singur for the erstwhile Nano car factory, and by the many companies who invested there to be vendors to the project, isn't set to change hands anytime soon.
Tata and the vendors both say they plan to hold on to the lease titles, even as Trinamool Congress chief and Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee and the West Bengal government continue with their political posturing over a plan for a rail coach factory at the location.
This is the case even with Caparo Engineering, where sources said the vendors had come to an understanding that they would hold on to the land at Singur. "We will be paying the lease fees," said the source. Caparo was one of the few vendors to have written to the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation that it wanted to return the land and had sought compensation, with interest. Caparo is a supplier of sheet metal and body frames for the Nano.
In October 2008, Tata Motors pulled out the Nano project from Singur, following an agitation led by Banerjee, then not holding any ministerial position, demanding return of 400 acres to the unwilling farmers.
Around 55 vendors associated with the Nano project had signed individual lease agreements with WBIDC.
Tata Ryerson sources hinted they would be paying lease fees as well, while the chairman of Sona Koyo Steering Systems said, "Of course, we will pay the fees for the land."
According to the contract signed by the vendors with WBIDC, the lease fee is to be paid every year. The annual rental per acre is Rs 8,000 and for Tata Motors, Rs 1 crore a year for the first five years, for 646 acres.
In her Railway budget speech last month, Banerjee rekindled the issue. "Ministry of Railways has conveyed its willingness, provided the state government hands over the requisite land to the Ministry of Railways, after returning 400 acres of land to the unwilling farmers (from whom these were acquired)," she had said.
Earlier, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd had evinced interest in setting up a power plant at the Nano site. The state-owned power utility later backed out, saying the project didn't seem viable. Then, Banerjee sprang a surprise with a rail coach factory proposal.
The bigger surprise came from the West Bengal government, which readily accepted the proposal, prompting Banerjee to revisit her earlier demand of returning 400 acres to the farmers at Singur.
A number of letters have been exchanged between the state government and the Railway Board, without the two coming to an agreement. While the government asked for a firm proposal from the Railways, the Board said it will do so once the land is recovered from the lessees.
However, even if the state government is able to recover the land from Tata and the associated vendors, it will be in a fix over returning this to the land-losers. "As far as my understanding goes, land once acquired cannot be returned. We have taken legal consultation and there is an apex court ruling that indicates this. But, I can't comment on what the Railways can do," West Bengal's chief secretary, Ashok Mohan Chakrabarti, had said.
During an earlier visit to Kolkata, Tata Chairman Ratan Tata indicated he would not stand in the way of development at Singur, but would have to be compensated for the investment made on the ground.
