Tata Motors Limited, the Indian auto maker, has proposed in the Supreme Court that it wants to retain the leasehold rights over the 997 acre land at Singur in West Bengal, which was allotted to it for the Nano car project. The land was dispensed to the car maker by the Left Front government, when Tata Motors announced in 2006 that Nano would be manufactured in the state. However, due to the protests by the local farmers against the forced acquisition of their land, company decided to build the car in Gujarat. Nonetheless, recent reports have claimed that automobile manufacturer is planning to return to the state with the next phase of expansion of Nano project. Notably, acquisition of land in West Bengal BY Tata Motors turned out to be one of the biggest controversies of the last decade.
Senior Advocate Harish Salve told a bench comprising justices, H L Dattu and Ranjana Prakash Desai, "I have instructions from the highest level to submit that we are keen to return there (West Bengal).” As reported by the sources, Tata Motors' keen interest on retaining Singur land came as a reply to the specific query from the apex court asking the company to make its stand clear over the land allocated earlier fort the project. This query was raised in the wake of altered scenario as the company's car plant was moved to Gujarat.
Reciprocating to Tata Motors' stand, the bench said, "The land was acquired for establishing a car manufacturing plant at Singur. Now the purpose is no more there as you have already moved out. Now you cannot say that you still have interests in the land in question.” Adding to the aforementioned statement, the counsel for the West Bengal government said that the land must be returned to the local farmers. The bench further added, "The land should move back to the agriculturists and we may ask West Bengal government to file an affidavit on the issue of giving the money back to you which you had paid at the time of land acquisition,"
In response to the submissions from the company and the state government, the bench stated that since the company wishes to retain the land, it will also have to consider the state's plea on merits and therefore, fixed the case for a final hearing in April 2014.
Previously, the court was heard a special leave petition filed by the state government, wherein it challenged the quashing of the Singur Land Acquisition Act by the Calcutta High Court. The Calcutta high court order that had earlier struck down the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011, which allowed it to reclaim the 400 acres of land allotted to Tata Motors, was moved against it by the state government. It was on June 22, 2012 that the high court ruled the legislation enacted by West Bengal government to recover the land allotted to the company for its Nano car project as it was constitutionally invalid since the President's assent was not taken for the Act.
