Singur

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  ?Singur
West Bengal • India
Map indicating the location of Singur
Thumbnail map of India with West Bengal highlighted
Location of Singur
 Singur 
Coordinates: 22°49′N 88°14′E / 22.81, 88.23
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area
• Elevation
• 14 m (46 ft)
District(s) Hooghly
Population 19,539 (2001)

Coordinates: 22°49′N 88°14′E / 22.81, 88.23 Singur is a census town in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Singur railway station is 34 km from Howrah Station on the Howrah-Tarakeswar line. It is 2 km ahead of Kamarkundu junction, the crossing point of Howrah-Bardhaman chord and Howrah-Tarakeshwar lines. It is just off the Dankuni-Shaktigarh Durgapur Expressway.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Singur is located at 22.81° N 88.23° E.[1] It has an average elevation of 14 metres (45 ft). The several villages comprising Singur include Dobandi, Khasherberia, Joymolla, Ujjal Sangha, Beraberi, Bajemelia, etc.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[2] Singur had a population of 19,539. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Singur has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 71%. In Singur, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Small Car Manufacturing Facility

Tata Motors have been constructing their $2,500 car factory at Singur. The small car is scheduled to roll out of the factory by 2008. [3] The choice of Singur was made by the company among six sites offered by the state government and in the face of massive opposition from the local population.[citations needed]

The company has made substantial promises. According to their claims, Singur would become a mini-auto city and approximately 70 vendors would set up shop along with the factory. The total investment planned is to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore.[4]. The project has, however, generated controversy right from the start, particularly on the question of state acquisition of fertile agricultural land for private enterprises.

[edit] The land acquisition controversy

While the ruling party has gone all out[5] for acquisition of 997 acres (404 ha) of multi-crop land required for the car factory, questions have been raised about the partly allegedly forcible acquisition which was made under the colonial Land Acquisition Act of 1894. Even the provisions of this act have allegedly not been met.[6]

The law has provisions for state taking over privately held land for public purposes but not for developing private businesses. The illegality of the acquisition has been substantially conceded by the Kolkata High Court.

The Tata Motors site is the most fertile one in the whole of the Singur, and the Singur block, in turn, is among the most highly fertile in West Bengal. Consequently, almost the entire local population depends on agriculture with approximately 150,000 making their livelihood directly from it[7]. With the number of direct jobs to be created no more than about 1,000, many of which are expected to go to outsiders, the local populace feel understandably threatened for their livelihood.[8] Environmental degradation is also feared.

Chief protesters include the opposition parties spearheaded by the Trinamool Congress under Mamata Banerjee and Socialist Unity Centre of India. The movement has received widespread support from civil rights and human rights groups, legal bodies, social activists like Medha Patkar and Anuradha Talwar, Booker prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and Magsaysay and Jnanpith Award-winning author Mahasweta Devi. [9]. Other intellectuals, writers like the poet Joy Goswami, artists like Suvaprasanna, theatre and film personalities like Saonli Mitra, Aparna Sen etc. have pitched in. The state police force has been used to restrict their access to the area. [10] The Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has on the other hand appeared to defend the decision to set up the factory. He however opposed forcible acquisition of land.[1]

The protesters have been trenchantly attacked, verbally by the CPI(M) leaders and physically by the party's supporters. Benoy Konar, member of the party's state committee, famously declared that protesting intellectuals would be greeted by women supporters of the party by baring their behinds [2].

Preliminary surveys by officials of the state and Tata Motors faced protests, and manhandling on one occasion, from the villagers organized under the Save Singur Farmland Committee with Trinamool Congress forming its chief component. [11]

The state government imposed the prohibitory Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code for initially a month and then extended it indefinitely. The imposition has been declared illegal by the Kolkata High Court [12]

While landless peasants and share-croppers fear losing out entirely, sections of the locals, particularly those owing allegiance to the CPI(M) have welcomed the factory. These count chiefly among the owners of bigger portions of the land even as discrimination in the compensation has been alleged.[13]

A section of those promised jobs at the factory have boycotted classes while training in protest against the alleged going back on the promise.[14]

[edit] Fencing off the land

The land earmarked for the project was taken control of by the state administration amidst protests and fencing off commenced on December 1, 2006. Mamata Bannerjee, who was prevented from entering Singur by the state police, called a statewide bandh in protest while legislators belonging to her party turned violent in the legislative assembly causing damage to furniture. [3] Later, she went on a 25-day hunger strike [4]. During this period she presented affidavits of farmers apparently unwilling to part with their land. [15]

The fenced off area has been regularly guarded, besides large contingents of policemen, by cadres of the CPI(M) party. They were accused of the multiple rape followed by burning to death of teenage villager Tapasi Malik who was active in the protests, on December 18, 2006. [16] Negligence and political interference in the probe into her death have been alleged.[17] Later, CPI(M) activist Debu Malik and based on his statement, CPI(M) zonal committee secretary Suhrid Dutta were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the crime. [18]

Intermittent attacks by villagers have since continued on the fence. However, continuing agitations against the project appeared to have proved ineffective and a farmer who lost land committed suicide[19]

On the other hand the pro-factory villagers siding with the CPI(M) have made accusations against the Naxalite faction of the ‘Save Singur Farmland Committee’ of threats and violence against them.[20]

[edit] Construction of plant

Tatas ceremonially initiated the construction of the plant on 21 January 2007.[21]

Tata Motors on Sunday said it has started construction of its small car plant in Singur after approval of the West Bengal government.[22] This construction has been started even before the land has been officially handed over to the Tatas.[23] The Director (Industries) of the West Bengal Government M. V. Rao, overseeing the entire project, said although the Government was yet to hand over the land to Tata Motors officially, the company was permitted to start initial phases of construction work. The formal handover of the land would take place in one or two weeks, he added.

[edit] Procedural lacunae

Other aspects of the process of setting up the factory that have come under severe criticism are the government's secrecy on the details of the deal and the chief minister's furnishing of false information, including in the legislative assembly Vidhan Sabha. In particular, the concessions being given to Tata Motors have not been publicly revealed. The falsehoods of the chief minister chiefly pertain to claims made by him of having acquired 912 acres (3.69 km²) [24] through voluntary consent of the owners without the use of force.

The Kolkata High Court declared the acquisition prima facie illegal. [25] The air seemed to have cleared somewhat when the High Court ordered the state government to submit correct figures following which an affidavit but was not satisfied with the result[5]. In a fresh affidavit filed later in June 2007, the government admitted to 30 per cent of the land was acquired from farmers without consent. [26] The affidavit remains unclear on whether the lack of consent is based on insufficiency of the compensation or refusal to sell altogether.[27]

[edit] Business houses' role

All eight business chambers in Kolkata have naturally been worried over the developments and some alleged politicisation of the industrial process. Their interest is understandably threatened by the unrest.

The critics of the government's industrialization policy have argued on the other hand that while India is moving towards a "free market" economy, government has been acting as a broker for the private sector by forcing pivate citizens to give up their property at throw away prices.

[edit] Politics

In the 2006 assembly elections, Rabindranath Bhattacharjee of All-India Trinamool Congress won the Singur seat. He was a renowned teacher of Singur School.[28]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Singur
  2. ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  3. ^ The Hindu Business Line, 26 November 2006
  4. ^ The Hindu Business Line, 13 December 2006
  5. ^ The Telegraph 14 October 2006
  6. ^ The Business Standard
  7. ^ Countercurrents.org, 30 December 2006 Headline Singur
  8. ^ Tehelka Mar 03, 2007
  9. ^ doccentre.net Report on Public Hearing
  10. ^ The Times of India December 8, 2007: Do you need a visa to enter Bengal?
  11. ^ The Indian Express 15 January 2007
  12. ^ The Times of India February 15, 2007
  13. ^ The Telegraph December 10, 2006
  14. ^ The Telegraph 23 June, 2007 Job cry from Tata trainees
  15. ^ The Statesman 23 December 2006
  16. ^ The Statesman 19 December 2007
  17. ^ The Statesman 22 January 2007
  18. ^ The Indian Express 29 June 2007 CPM local boss arrested for Singur girl’s murder
  19. ^ The Indian Express 26 May 2007
  20. ^ DNA - India - ‘Save Singur’ turns sour - Daily News & Analysis
  21. ^ The Telegraph 22 january 2007
  22. ^ DNA - India - Tatas begin construction at Singur
  23. ^ The Hindu : Front Page : Tata Motors starts work at Singur
  24. ^ The Indian Express November 24, 2006
  25. ^ The India Daily February 24 2007 Calcutta High Court says Singur land acquisition appears illegal -all eyes now on communists in West Bengal
  26. ^ IBN 10 June 2007: 30 pc Singur farmers not compensated
  27. ^ The Times of India 8 June 2007: State files Singur affidavit
  28. ^ Rediff.com West Bengal election results

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

v • d • e
Development hubs in West Bengal