Tata chief meets CM: Singur farmers hope revival of fortunes

Tata Group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran recently met chief minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna, marking their first meeting in her 14-year tenure as CM. The discussion centred on renewed investment prospects in Bengal.

This high-profile meeting has rekindled hope among farmers owning land in the 700-acre stretch that has remained barren and uncultivable since the abandoned Tata Nano project. For these affected landowners, industrial development appears to be the only viable means of putting their infertile land to productive use and securing economic stability.

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The original 997-acre land acquired for the Tata project in Singur comprised five mouzas: Bera Behari, Kasher Behari, Gopalnagar, Bazemaliya, and Singher Behari. Of these, only the Gopalnagar mouza remained unaffected by the construction and modification works initiated by Tata. Due to its fertile soil, agriculture was resumed promptly in Gopalnagar after farmers regained physical possession of their lands. In a symbolic gesture, chief minister Banerjee sowed mustard seeds there to mark the beginning of agricultural revival. In the Gopalnagar and Mahestala areas, farmers successfully cultivated paddy, potatoes, mustard, and pulses.

Despite this progress, around 700 acres of land across the mouzas of Kasher Behari, Bazemaliya, Singher Behari, and others remain fallow and uncultivated.

Members of the Krishi Raksha Committee — Mahadeb Das, Dud Kumar Dhara, Pradyut Das, Mehato Mallick, Ashim Das and others stated: “We had submitted a written appeal to the chief minister, urging her to instruct the district administration to begin reclamation and make the land cultivable. Initially, there was some activity — the district magistrate and senior officials visited the land multiple times — but nothing concrete happened. Even today, the 700 acres remain unused.”

They further mentioned that, as per court orders, the state government had paid compensation of Rs 2.7 lakh per bigha due to the inability to undertake farming for over a decade. However, since then, no productive use has been made of the land, which remains barren and income-less.

“We hope that the recent meeting between the Tata Group chairman and the chief minister leads to meaningful industrial development on this land. As the rightful owners, we are willing to hand over possession to Tata or any major industrial group. Such a move would not only uplift our economic situation but also generate employment for our educated but jobless sons and daughters.”