Singur saga: TaMo's arbitration award roils political waters in West Bengal

Political catfight over Singur, the scrapped site for the Nano from the Tata Motors’ stable, typically rears its head during elections. For the Opposition, it’s a symbol of lost opportunities for West Bengal — a “what could have been” story; for the Mamata Banerjee-led government, it is a farmer movement that reset land acquisition for industry.

The next electoral battle is still months away, but an arbitration award has roiled the political discourse in Kolkata. On Oct­o­ber 30, Tata Motors said in an exchange filing it had won an arbitral award of Rs 766 crore plus interest as compensation for its investment in Singur. The award pertains to compensation to Tata from the West Bengal Industrial Development Cor­poration (WBIDC) under “various heads, on account of the loss of capital investments” regarding the manufacturing facility at Singur, from where the carmaker had pulled out in October 2008 in the face of mounting agitation.
 

Fifteen years after Tata moved the Nano project to Sanand, in Gujarat, Singur is making its political significance felt. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left Front are pointing fingers at Banerjee for depriving West Bengal of what could have resolved unemployment issues. The Trin­a­mool Congress is shifting the blame on the Communists for faulty land acquisition.

About 40km from the heat of this debate in Kolkata, the once-upon-a-time site for the Nano at Singur hardly has any trace left of the factory. The familiar white-and-blue structure that had almost become a milestone on NH2 is long gone. The 997 acres that housed the mother plant and ancillary units is blanketed with wild grass, with patches of paddy. Along the highway, a larger sculpture showing three farmers looking up to the sky and a plough in the backdrop is being readied.

The sculpture, said a state minister who does not wish to be identified, was the government’s tribute to the “Singur andolan”. Down the winding roads, in the villages, the land losers that led the protests for and against the project are still picking up the pieces.

What was once gold

Gokul Das, who was part of the protest against land acquisition for the Nano factory, is now happy to part with his 2.5 bighas. “The land before the acquisition was so fertile, it was like pure gold. But the character of the land has changed. It has hardened and is metal-like now, with all the fly ash and concrete from the factory construction. If I get a buyer, I will sell.”

Seated beside him, cousin Sambhu Das sings the same tune.

Ananta Barui was on the other side of the Singur battle. “I had given my land willingly for the project. But the land that has been returned is of no benefit. With great sorrow, I say, I hope someone takes the land.”

The Banerjee government however has spent quite a sum in making the land cultivable. According to the villagers, some land deals have happened among the locals. But there are more sellers than buyers.

There are two camps in Singur — the “willing” and the “unwilling”. The former are land losers who willingly gave up their plot for the project and took the compensation cheque from the Left Front. The latter — about 20 per cent of total land losers — protested the land acquisition and refused to take compensation.

The land that became the symbol of protest has been returned to the farmers or land holders.

Return to farmers

On August 31, 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that the acquisition of land in Singur, conducted by the Left Front government in 2006, had violated the procedure laid down by the law. The court ordered its return to the owners and issued directions for compensation. Compensation paid to land owners and cultivators shall not be recovered and those who had not collected were free to collect compensation.

So, of the 997 acres, how much land is under cultivation now?

There is no single truth here. Depen­ding on whom you ask in Singur, the figure swings wildly, between 75 acres and 650 acres.

The SC verdict triggered the compensation clause for Tata Motors. 

A clause in the lease deed between the WBIDC and Tata Motors in 2007 had said that the lessee shall be entitled to compensation for losses incurred if a court or any other authority held that the land acquisition proceedings had not been in accordance with the law.

The government is believed to be weighing its legal options against the arbitral award to Tata Motors. But N G Khait­an, senior partner, Khaitan & Co, and president, Indian Council of Arbitration, said that to seek a stay on an arbitral award, the compensation, either in full or part, would first have to be deposited with the court.

The ‘victory’

It is widely believed that the Singur andolan contributed to Mamata Banerjee’s historic victory in the Assembly elections of 2011, which brought the curtains down on a 34-year Left Front rule in West Ben­gal. Banerjee, who backed the “unwilling” land losers, has been repaying the debt, with a dole of Rs 2,000 and 16 kg of free rice per month to the “unwilling” land losers.

A bunch of sharecroppers, who had fought on the same side as Banerjee, now wonder if it would have been better to have the factory in Singur. The income from farming is meagre and there is work for probably half a month, they say. “But we have been looked after by Didi. It would tantamount to betrayal to say anything against her,” they add. Didi is what Banerjee is fondly called.

The “willing” land losers, who do not get the dole and the rice, feel they have lost out by supporting land acquisition for the project.

By the time Nano moved out, Tata Motors had invested Rs 1,800 crore in developing and levelling the land, setting up the plant, and on the machinery. The first batch of cars were about to roll out. Of the vendors, 13 had already constructed plants and buildings and 17 were in various stages of con­struction. Fifteen years on, ahead of the Bengal Global Business Summit slated for later this month, it has returned as an uneasy reminder.

The Arbitral Award

On October 30, a three-member Arbitral Tribunal disposing of proceedings in favour of Tata Motors said it was entitled to re­cover from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) a sum of Rs 765.78 crore with interest at 11 per cent per annum from September 1, 2016. Tata Motors has also been held entitled to reco­ver from WBIDC Rs 1 crore towards proceedings cost.

What triggered the compensation

On August 31, 2016, the Supreme Court found that due procedure wasn’t foll­owed for land acquisition and directed that the land be given back to its owners.

A clause in the lease deed between WBIDC and Tata Motors in 2007 had said the lessee shall be ent­itled to damages for losses incurred if a court or any other authority held that the land acquisition proceedings had not been in accordance with the law.