"Singur is an exceptional case and not a general feature of the State'

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said land at the Singur Tata Motors project site could not be returned without scrapping the project. Many industrialists present at a meeting here, however, urged the government to try and resolve the matter by talking directly with the farmers who are said to be demanding their land back.

Ready to discuss "anything' with her to solve problem: Buddhadeb
You cannot buy us and our struggle, Mamata tells Tatas

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday said discussions on the Singur crisis could be held only on condition that the land allegedly acquired forcibly for the Tata Motors project be handed back to farmers.

Mosquito repellents used by policemen on night patrol along the expressway. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya)

New Delhi, Aug. 25: If the Bengal government wants to return some of the Singur land to the original owners, it can bypass the legal difficulties by enacting a law in the Assembly, legal experts say.

One reason the state has cited to reject Mamata Banerjee's demand to hand back 400 acres to unwilling landlosers is that the law doesn't allow return of acquired land.

Bs Reporter / Kolkata August 26, 2008, 0:37 IST

Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee today rejected a fresh invitation from West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for talks to break the deadlock at the upcoming Tata Motors' Nano plant at Singur near here.

Banerjee started an indefinite dharna at Singur on Sunday, demanding that the 400 acres taken from "unwilling farmers' for the project should be returned to them. The company can instead be given 500 acres of land nearby, she has said.

Jayati Ghosh

Nandini Sen Gupta NEW DELHI

THE Tata Motors top management has reportedly indicated internally that the company will pull the plug on Singur if the situation does not improve in the next fortnight. Sources said even though the company can dismantle its Singur plant and install it somewhere else, it will lose Rs 100-200 crore on account of expenses incurred in laying the foundation, besides the inevitable delay in fullscale production of the Nano.

Business Standard / New Delhi August 25, 2008, 0:57 IST

Bs Reporter / Singur August 25, 2008, 0:12 IST

Allegedly owned by CPI(M) promoters, it is not cultivated, says Trinamool leader. Rally turnout lower than expected.

Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee suggested earmarking 500 acres of land opposite the controversial Tata Motors factory site to make the "people's car', the Nano, in Singur for the project.

Kozhikode: Industries Minister Elamaram Karim has said that the State government is not in the race for Tata Motors' Nano project.

"The government is not in favour of snatching a project of another State. Our party [the Communist Party of India-Marxist] is trying to amicably settle the issue,' Mr. Karim told The Hindu here on Sunday.

He said the government did not want unhealthy competition among the States. "However, Tata Motors is wholeheartedly welcome to the State if the company has fresh ideas. If they approach, we are ready to host a new project,' he said.

Marcus Dam

KOLKATA: Amid elaborate security arrangements, the Trinamool Congress and its allies on Sunday launched an indefinite agitation outside the Tata Motors' car project site at Singur in West Bengal's Hooghly district.

"The