Singur land proposal dismissed

http://thestatesman.org/page.arcview.php?date=2007-06-09&usrsess=1730188832790&clid=6&id=186060


Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, June 8: The state commerce and industry minister, Mr Nirupam Sen, today dismissed the proposal for providing alternative land to unwilling farmers in Singur on the ground that adjoining land did not belong to the state government and would have to be acquired from others. The Trinamul Congress chief, Ms Mamata Banerjee, had demanded that the state government should give back the land taken away from unwilling owners.
“Nobody is willing to part with his land, but wants the adjoining land to be taken away for development purpose as it will allow him to enjoy the fruits of development. In Singur, if we leave out the land belonging to A and instead take away the land from B, then B will be making the same demand. It will lead to a vicious circle,” he said.
The minister was speaking at a seminar organised by Calcutta University Teachers’ Association on agriculture and industry with regards to the development of the state. Mr Sen said that with modern technology, even non-agriculture land could be converted in agricultural area which left little option for the industry to set up shop in the state.
Mr Sen also dismissed the anti-acquisition movement as a group of people fighting to safeguard their individual interest under a political umbrella. But at the same time, he placed emphasis on including these people in the process of development and industrialisation and pave the way for their transformation from being farmers to industrial workers.