A dozen casual labourers who had been working at the Nano plant were sent away on Tuesday by their contractor to work on a Tata project in Lucknow. “We aren’t sure when the work would start here again and we have exhausted our rations. Our contractor, Dhoor India, called us yesterday and told us to move,” said Sanjay, from Siwan in Bihar. Bags in hand, they took a motorised van to reach Singur station. “We will take a train to Lucknow from Howrah,” said Dhananjoy Tiwari, from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Calcutta, Sept. 2: The Bengal government could offer to the unwilling landlosers in Singur plots for commercial activity outside the Nano project area, industries minister Nirupam Sen said tonight.

In an interview with STAR Ananda, Sen, a key player in the government’s initiative to bring Tata Motors to Bengal, said the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) had land that could be released for the benefit of the landlosers.

“It is not that there is no scope to work out something additional for the aggrieved landlosers. There is land lying with the WBIDC outside the project area and it can be utilised,” said Sen.

He did not say how much land the WBIDC had.

This is the first time the government has come up with a concrete offer to provide alternative land to farmers unwilling to accept compensation cheques in Singur.

Sen made it clear that agriculture would not be possible on these plots. “They can be used commercially. But I can tell you that the income from such commercial ventures will not be any less than that from agriculture.”

He said: “If she (Mamata Banerjee) sits with me, I’ll explain to her why it is not possible to return the plots to the unwilling farmers. I will explain to her that the main Nano plant and the ancillaries will have to be together. If she insists on the return of the plots, the project will have to be scrapped.”

It wouldn’t also be possible to return land to the farmers by acquiring 500 acres opposite the Nano site, shifting the ancillaries and building an underpass to connect them, as Mamata had suggested.

On the announcement that the Tatas were considering pulling out, Sen said: “It is very sad and unfortunate. It is very bad news for Bengal.”

Sen said the government had been assured by leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee that the agitation in front of the project would be peaceful. “But what kind of opposition is this that doesn’t allow such a project to take off? I didn’t realise the Opposition could be so irresponsible,” said Sen.

He was, however, still hopeful about the project. “I am optimistic till the last moment. Let the Opposition hold talks and let us find a solution so that we can tell the investors (Tata) not to withdraw,” he said.