New Delhi , May 13: The Supreme Court today refused to stay the Calcutta High Court order upholding the acquisition of 1,000 acres in Singur for the Nano plant.

A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan rejected pleas by a Calcutta lawyer and two Singur farmers to stay the January 18 judgment that held the land was acquired in “public interest”.

The apex court, however, issued notices to the Centre, the state and Tata Motors.

The farmers’ counsel, Kalyan Bandopadhyay, alleged that the land had been acquired “illegally”.

According to the law, the state can acquire land for public purposes. The Tata plant is likely to generate employment for over 10,000 people.

The company said it had invested over Rs 1,000 crore in the project and any delay would lead to escalation in the price of the Rs 1-lakh car. “Of the project cost of Rs 2,000 crore, Rs 1,000 crore has been already spent and another Rs 700 crore has been irrevocably committed…. Workshops for manufacturing the engine body…are nearing completion.”