Singur verdit 'historic', says Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today described as a "historic verdict" the Calcutta High Court's order upholding validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011 by which West Bengal government vested the land leased to Tata Motors.

"Today's verdict is (a) historic verdict. Agitation of the farmers in Singur has not only shown the path to other parts of India, but also to the whole world," Banerjee said after the High Court verdict.

"I am grateful to the court, I have the highest respect for the judiciary," she said.

Banerjee said after the stay given by the court on operation of the order till November 2, "We will decide on the modalities of giving back the land to the farmers."

A large factory would be set up on 600 acres of land at Singur, while the rest 400 acres will be returned to the unwilling farmers who had not accepted compensation for the acquisition made by the erstwhile Left Front government in 2006, the Chief Minister said.

In an apparent dig at the CPI(M) for slamming the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 passed in the Assembly, she said, "A lot had been said alleging we were in great hurry to push through the Bill and were committing mistakes."