Mamata Banerjee scatters mustard seeds to bring Singur back to life

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has initiated the process of returning Singur land back to farmers. The farmland had been acquired to set up an automobile factory to manufacture the Nano cars by Tata Motors but, after a decade, the Singur agitation has come a full circle Mamata Banerjee stepped on the now-flattened land at the deserted Tata Nano site and scattered a few mustard seeds.
On the occasion, she said that "forcible land acquisition for industry" was just a "passing phase".
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 21 October 2016.

Mamata Banerjee reminded the landowners that work to make much of the 997.11 acres arable was still underway and added that 'one has to fight for rights. They aren't handed over on a platter. It is a continuous process.'
One of the landowners at the project site said that she had three bighas of land but, only 5 cottahs were handed over. Moreover, it was a three-crop land, which included paddy and potato and she got a bagful of mustard seeds from the CM. Incidentally, she has never grown mustard before but has been told that mustard usually doesn't need any fertilizer and also needs less water (only two inches a week).
The CM indicated that while farmers can start cultivating mustard immediately, they can in due course move over to potato and paddy also.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Mamata Banerjee to return land to farmers of Singur within 15-20 days

West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee has indicated that the process of returning the land at Singur to the landowners will be completed in the coming 15-20 days. Singur was the erstwhile site of the Tata Motor's Nano factory which got scrapped midway due to agitation by Mamata Banerjee, who was, at that time, in the opposition.
Her agitation forced Tata Motors to abandon their project in Singur and move out to Sanand in Gujarat in 2008.
This has been reported in business-standard.com dated 17 October 2016.

The chief minister has said that the process of giving physical possession of land in Singur will be completed in 15-20 days and has added that she would be present there personally. She has claimed that 80 per cent of the 997 acres of land at the site have been made "ready for farming".
Incidentally, Tata Motors' had filled up the land with fly-ash and had also constructed concrete-steel buildings to go ahead with their Nano project but, it had to be shelved midway in face of stiff opposition from Mamata Banerjee and her party - the Trinamool Congress.
After relocation to Gujarat, Tata Motors was still in possession of the land and, in August this year, the Supreme Court quashed the Left Front-led West Bengal government's acquisition of 997 acres of agricultural land in 2008 for Tata Motors. The court also directed the present Trinamool Congress government, led by Mamata Banerjee, to re-distribute the land to its owners within 12 weeks.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Mamata Banerjee springs a surprise in Singur - invites Tata Motors to return to Bengal

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee loves to take others by surprise. On the occasion of returning land to the unwilling farmers of Singur, she held out an olive branch to Tata Motors who had to abandon their Nano car project because of an agitation spearheaded by Mamata Banerjee herself.
She disclosed that her government owned nearly 1000 acres of land in a place known as Goaltore and would willingly let Tata Motors build a factory there.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 15 September 2016.

Mamata Banerjee has offered close to 1,000 acres of land in Goaltore, West Midnapore, to Tata Motors for an automobile plant and has given the company one month time to take a decision. Incidentally, in 2014, during a visit to Singapore, she had mentioned about the Goaltore land as a potential industrial site.
Obviously, people are curious to know more about Goaltore - the new industrial destination in Bengal. And, here are some salient features -

Area of land - 950.17 acres, it is owned by the government

Fencing - there is no proper fencing thus squatters can settle down easily

Connectivity - a narrow 29-Km road connects Goaltore to NH60 (Asansol to Balasore)

Proximity to large city - it is 185-Km away from Kolkata

Communication - travel time from Kolkata is around 3 hours

Electricity - there is a 400V line which is not enough for any industry. It is necessary for a sub-station with capacity of at least 132-KV.

Water - has to be brought from the Shilabati river which is 18-Km away.


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Mamata Banerjee realizes need for industries - to send team to Germany to scout around

The West Bengal government has, apparently, realized the folly of driving out the TATA Motors Nano factory from the state. The government is now eyeing investments in the automobile sector from Germany. Therefore, it plans to send officials to visit Germany later this month to scout around for investments in the automobile sector. Germany is home to big names like BMW, Volkswagen and Audi.
In case there is a positive response, chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself could travel to the country from Rome in September to hold discussions with the companies.
She will be in Rome in September to attend the canonisation of Mother Teresa and, if the team that sees any possibility of bringing in investments, the chief minister will visit the country after the programe in Rome.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 7 July 2016.

Obviously the Trinamul government was trying to counter a perception that it was anti-industry because of the Mamata-led movement that drove the Tata Nano factory out of Bengal. The government is apparently trying to address concerns over the lack of big-ticket investments in the manufacturing sector which could be a fallout of the Nano exit.
The chief minister seems to have realized that the automobile sector could open up investment avenues and also create job opportunities. Sanand in Gujarat, where Tata Motors shifted its Nano plant after moving out of Singur, has become an automobile hub with a number of companies, including Ford, Honda and Hyundai.
When Mamata Banerjee was in the Opposition, her agitation had driven the Nano project out of Bengal and realization has now dawned that industrialization is the need of the hour and creating more jobs for youths is important.


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Indo-Russia joint venture company in Bengal grows and sells bananas instead of automobiles

in Industry and West Bengal are absolutely incompatible. A factory meant for automobiles and situated close to Singur where TATA wanted to build the Nano factory, is now producing bananas instead of accessories. It is Ural India's bus and truck unit in Haldia. Fruits and vegetables grown on the premises following lack of orders that brought production to a halt last November. The Ural management has engaged the workers in cultivation to keep them busy and reduce the burden of monthly wages.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 14 March 2016.

Singur was the poll plank of Mamata Banerjee to wrench power from the ruing Left Front but, in spite of her pre-poll promises of returning land taken over for the Nano factory by the TATAs, no land has been returned because the issue is pending in the Supreme Court.
Hence, the Ural experience is a unique one. Economies are expected to develop from a primarily rural agricultural society to an industrialized urban economy. But, in Bengal, everything is topsy-turvy. The factory employees 11 permanent employees and 35 temporary hands. They stay in the premises and grow vegetables to survive.
Ural is a joint venture between UralAZ of Russia and Motijug Agencies of Calcutta and there was no formal arrangement with the workers to grow crops. But, they grow bananas, spinach etcetera and sell them in the local market. They have a system to maintain record of what they sell date-wise and, at the end of the month, the total money they earn is calculated and deducted from the salary payable.


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