Calcutta Sept. 17: The final act of the political drama over the Nano project is expected to be played out within the next week, by which time 2,000-odd farmers will give their response to the government’s compensation offer.

Sources in the administ- ration and the political camps said all sides — the govern- ment, Tata Motors and Mamata Banerjee — were anxiously looking for signs to figure out the farmers’ response to the package that promises land, cash and jobs before passing a verdict on the project.

“If the package gets even 60 per cent of the farmers now under Trinamul Congress control to register themselves for the benefits, you may say Nano will happen in Bengal,” a CPM minister said.

It is believed that the Tatas have told the government they will wait till September 22, the last date for registration of beneficiaries of the package, before deciding on the resumption of work at Singur.

The government is hoping Mamata’s anti-project movement will collapse if the package evokes a strong response from the farmers. “If it does not, the project will find itself in deep trouble,” said another minister.

The focus is now on the offices of the Hooghly district magistrate and the Singur block development officer, where the farmers will have to present themselves to receive the compensation cheques under the package.

CPM cadres and support- ers of the party’s Left allies have begun to fan out to the villages of Singur, hard selling the package to the farmers who had grouped under Mamata’s banner and demanded only land-based rehabilitation.

The agitating farmers also appear to be coming under pressure from a large section of local residents who have begun to enjoy the economic benefits of the factory and, regardless of political affiliations, are coming together to demand resumption of operations.

The Left supporters are not only going door to door explaining the government’s package but are also making use of neighbourhood clubs, NGOs or professional bodies as part of their campaign.

“Our job is well defined, but tough: motivate the unwilling farmers to come around and accept the package by September 22,” a minister said.

Trinamul is not sitting idle. Its functionaries, like Becharam Manna and Rabindranath Bhattacharya, are also campaigning to ensure the farmers are not influenced by the package. In doing so, they are even giving a negative spin to it, saying the government will go back on its promises once they sign the papers.

“We have reasons to be believe the average farmer does not trust the government, so the package will flop,” said leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee.

Trinamul will decide on its course of action after consulting governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi — who will return from Delhi on Thursday night — and apprising him of the “hurt” caused by the chief minister’s announcement of the package without fulfilling the “basic objectives” of the September 7 agreement between the two sides.