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Off the Durgapur Expressway on National Highway 2, the land is dotted with mounds of soil and concrete, wildgrass, and dilapidated drainage pipes. Only small patches of land show signs of agriculture. It is here that Mamata Banerjee once led an agitation against the Tata Motors Singur manufacturing plant that helped propel her party to power in the state. Fifteen years later, while the TMC continues its rule in West Bengal, and Tata Motors has been awarded a sizeable compensation, those who once farmed here say they are the only “losers”.
Earlier this week, an arbitration tribunal awarded Tata Motors Ltd Rs 766 crore in compensation — recoverable from the West Bengal government — for its capital investment losses in the stalled manufacturing plant.
For the farmers staying there, though, life appears to have come to a standstill. After Mamata became the Chief Minister in 2011, her first Cabinet decision was to return 400 acres of land to “unwilling farmers” – those whose land had been acquired by the erstwhile Left government but had refused compensation.
Among them is Laxmi Santra (67), a resident of Beraberi village. Standing next to her two cows, she says, “We had a small piece of land here and, like everyone, I was part of the agitation. I get Rs 2,000 per month and 16 kg rice (government compensation for unwilling farmers started by the TMC government). But that’s it. I can’t identify my land among the tall grass, water and bushes here. We are stuck here for years now. I do not know about Tata’s compensation. What about ours?”
Laxmi’s problem is not unique – after the Tatas took away their machinery, what remained were remnants of concrete structures and roads where farmland once stood. Amid the overgrown foliage, it’s virtually impossible to distinguish one person’s land from the other’s.
Dismantling work at the Singur Nano plant in 2016. (Express File)
Standing with his bicycle on one such narrow concrete road, 65-year-old Ashok Porel says he was one of the farmers who gave up his land willingly for the Tata project. “I had five bighas of land. Then the company withdrew their project from Singur. All these years later, I am yet to identify my land as there are no demarcations. The government said they will return land which is cultivable; can you really cultivate anything you see here?” he asks.
“As I was a willing farmer, I don’t get the government doles that ‘unwilling farmers’ get. And I got my land only on paper. I still believe industry is the only way out of the mess here,” says Porel, who lives with his wife and son. His son, who worked as a jewellery artisan in Saudi Arabia, returned during the pandemic and is yet to get a job.
Porel says he could only use 13 cottahs of land near his residence for cultivation. “That too after engaging earth movers to clear the land of concrete and iron chunks.”
Carrying a load of grass meant to be used as cattle fodder, Becharam Patra, 78, says he used to be a sharecropper. “We did not own land but worked on what others had. We didn’t get any compensation; only monthly doles from the state government, which also stopped a few months ago. So many years later, everyone now says industry should be set up since this land is unusable,” said Becharam, who lives with his wife and son in Khaser Bheri.
Roughly 20 minutes from the project area, Dr Udayan Das sits at his private nursing home in Singur town. Of the 13 acres of his land that was acquired for the plant, he has been able to retrieve only 3 acres for use.
“If you ask me who won after the Singur land agitation, I would say the TMC. Some efforts were made by the state government but the land is neither demarcated nor cultivable,” he said. “We cannot develop or sell the land either – the concrete roads are too narrow and heavy vehicles cannot ply. And huge investment is needed if you want to make it suitable for agriculture.”
The state government continues to give Rs 2,000 and 16 kg of rice to each of the 3,611 people in Singur who have links to the land – including owners, sharecroppers and farm laborers.
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Failing to till the land, some farmers have tried ponds and fisheries. Among them is Dilip Samanta. “It will take time, but we are hopeful it will work,” says the 65-year-old, who was one of the “unwilling farmers”.
“We have formed a society with five people and are rearing fish in a huge water body. On the embankment we will go for fruit trees (horticulture)… No one was against industry here. We wanted 600 acres to be industry and 400 acres of fertile land to be left out,” he says.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Becharam Manna, minister of state for panchayat and rural development department, who was among the leaders of the Singur land agitation, says, “Farming has started in many plots of land. The work for making the rest of the land suitable for agriculture is going on. This is all I can say. I will not comment on Tata’s claim.”
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