New Delhi:
Mamata Banerjee will have to wait to return land at Singur to farmers. The land was leased to Tata Motors by the Left when it was in power in West Bengal.
The Supreme Court today has said farmers should not receive their land till the Calcutta High Court rules on the legal battle that's being fought between Ms Banerjee's government and the Tatas.
Ms Banerjee was all set this morning to hand back 12 farms - the first step in her plan to return 600 acres to farmers who say they were coerced into giving up their land for the Tata Nano factory, which was abandoned in 2008. Earlier this month, the West Bengal Assembly passed the Singur Act- empowering Ms Banerjee to reclaim the land from the Tatas on the grounds that they "abandoned" their project. Tata Motors has countered that it invested several hundred crores in its Nano plant at Singur, but the company was forced to exit West Bengal after violent protests by farmers who were supported by Ms Banerjee's party, the Trinamool Congress.
(Read: Tata Motors stocks jump on Supreme Court's interim relief)The Tatas say the grounds for the cancellation of their lease are invalid; the company has challenged the Singur Act in the Calcutta High Court; it has also said that the West Bengal government's use of force to acquire the land within its plant is unconstitutional.
During the proceedings, the bench observed it is not a question of political issues but a question of rights.
Ms Banerjee promised in her campaign for the Bengal elections that this land would be returned to "unwilling farmers." These farmers say they were coerced by the Left government that was in power before Ms Banerjee into giving up their land for Tata Motors. They had refused to accept compensation.