Calcutta High Court nullifies the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011

Calcutta High Court junked the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 declaring it unconstitutional and invalid. The legislation helped the government claim back the disputed Singur land from Tata Motors, who took 997 acre of land on lease at Singur in Hooghly district during the regime of previous left front government in the state.

• The Act was ratified by the West Bengal state assembly in 2011 when Mamata Banrjee led Trinamool Congress came to power in May 2011. The legislation validated the state government’s land re-acquisition move and authorized the government to recover 1000 acres of land at the abandon Tata Nano factory site in Singur.

Singur Land Dispute

• It was in May 2006 when Singur land dispute kicked off following the left front government’s move to provide to the The Tata Motors’ Nano project 997 acre land for 99 years, at Singur in Hooghly district of Bengal
• The decision was sternly opposed by the Trinamool Congress, the then major opposition party of the state. The party demanded the return of 400 acre of land to farmers unwilling to sell land for the project. Following the opposition and the political troubles around the project the Tata Motors, in 2008, decided to shift Nano project to Sanand, Gujarat in 2008. But it kept possession of the leased land at Singur.
• in May 2011 Trinmool Congress led by Mamta Banerjee threw the left front out power. The Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee passed the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, which empowered the government to take possession of the Singur land from the Tata Motors. Tata Motors appealed in Calcutta High Court challenging the legislation

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2012