We did not abandon the Singur project: Tata Motors

Tata Motors today told the Calcutta High Court that it had not abandoned the Singur project as stated by West Bengal government and claimed it was forced to leave due to blockades and agitation.

Challenging the state government's enacting a law to take back land from Tata Motors for return to 'unwilling' farmers at Singur, its counsel S Mitra submitted before Justice Saumitra Pal that it has been wrongly accused of abandoning the land.

He submitted the question of maintainability of the Tata Motors petition, which was raised by the Advocate General, was not right.

Advocate General Anindya Mitra had earlier stated that while Tata Motors had expressed apprehension that the land would be taken away by the government, the ground reality was that the land was already in possession of the government.

The government had after notifying the Singur Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011 taken possession of the 997.97 acre that had been acquired for the Nano car project in 2006.

Opposing this, Mitra said while the petition was prepared on the evening of June 21 and moved the next morning, the land had been taken in possession by the government from 9:30 pm on June 21.

The matter was adjourned for the day and would be heard again tomorrow.