The West Bengal government on Wednesday reacted to the Tata fury on the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, saying it didn’t want to get into a war of words with the group. In an exclusive interview with FE’s Indronil Roychowdhury, state industry minister Partha Chatterjee explained why the government was sticking to its stand that the Tatas abandoned the project.
The Tatas are enraged with the abandonment tag. How do you react?
The state government feels that the Tatas want to engage in a war of words with it to prepare grounds for claiming high compensation. But the government will not enter into a quarrel with them. The Bill has given power to the district judge of Hooghly to settle the compensation and the Tatas should go there to ask for it.
So you are ready to pay compensation to the Tatas?
The Bill clearly mentions that compensation will be given to the Tatas, which means the government accepts that the Tatas have faced loss. But at the same time the government has also incurred expenditure in providing drainage and security.
But the Tatas were forced to exit the state…
We were in the Opposition then (2008) and we did not ask the Tatas to pull out of Singur with their Nano project. We only wanted them to return 400 acres. But they did not concede our demand and instead withdrew their project from Singur. Is it not abandonment?
Critics would say you are hurrying through a Singur solution.
Of course. Three years have passed since the Tatas left Singur and the land is lying idle. The new government cannot be a mute spectator to it and has to take some measures in utilising the land.
Would you welcome the Tatas back to Singur?
Let the Tatas propose any investment on 600 acres and I shall immediately rush to the chief minister with the proposal. Ratan Tata is making irresponsible statements.
He is trying to indulge in a quarrel with us, which we want to avoid. Let the Tatas send their reaction in writing and then we will treat it as official.
