Nandigram project may be shifted: CM

Stating that there would no going back on the Tata Motors' Singur project, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the planned chemical hub in Nandigram could be relocated if locals continued to opposed it.

"At Singur, we will never go back. ... It is not possible. If I go back in this case, I will never be able to raise my head. It will send a very wrong message all over the world, all over the country," he told a TV channel.

"I am sure I will be able to make them (people of Singur) understand why Singur project is necessary for the development of our state," he said.'

On the special economic zone (SEZ) in Nandigram, where Indonesia's Salim Group plans to set up a chemicals hub, Bhattacharjee said it had been put on hold as the local administration "committed a mistake" by taking measures without consulting the local people and the panchayats.

Bhattacharjee, who is also a CPI(M) politbureau member, said the party units would explain to the people "why it (the project) is necessary and how it will change the economy of Nandigram."

Asked if the people still refused to accept the project, the chief minister said "if they do not accept, I will not go to Nandigram. I will change the venue."

He said he would take the chemical hub project somewhere else in the state "because I need it" for the West Bengal's development.

Bhattacharjee replied in the affirmative when asked whether people of Nandigram would have the final word on the project.

To questions about opposition Trinamool Congress charges that there was a controversy over 360 acres of land in Singur, the chief minister said 960 acres out of 997 acres had already been "voluntarily handed over" by the land-owners along with their letters of consent.

He said he had checked the allegations made in the Trinamool Congress memorandum to the governor and there was no substance in the charges. "I stick to my position."

Bhattacharjee said his government's image had not taken a beating in view of the recent controversies over land acquisition, though "it will take some time to clear the confusion" created by the administration in Nandigram.

Referring to the importance of the small car project for the state's development, he said he had "desperately tried" to convince Tata Group chief Ratan Tata to set up the small car project in West Bengal.

Maintaining that the CPI(M) had proposed amendment of the 1894 Land Acquisition Act and rules, he said these included the price of land and a rehabilitation policy, among other things.

He said these proposals were already being implemented in Singur, including training to the local people and women for the plant and ancilliary units.

Regarding compensation, Bhattacharjee said about Rs nine lakh were being paid for an acre of single crop land and Rs 12 lakh for multi-crop.