Calcutta, Sept. 1: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today said farmers in Singur would get back their land within 12 weeks as ordered by the Supreme Court and added that the plots that would be handed back would be cultivable.

Yesterday, the apex court struck down as illegal the acquisition of land for the Tata Nano factory by the erstwhile Left Front government.

Today, Mamata held a meeting with government officials on ways to return the land to the farmers.

During the session, many officials pointed out that the character of a large portion of the land had changed because it had been filled up with concrete, stone chips and sand during the construction of the now-abandoned small-car plant.

"We will return the land to the farmers within the stipulated timeframe and we want to return cultivable plots to them. A notification will be issued today," the chief minister told reporters after the meeting.

The Supreme Court has ordered the return of the 1,053 acres that had been acquired by the government. The court order does not specify that the land to be returned will have to be fit for cultivation.

While the process of returning the land to the farmers would not pose much of a problem because of the Supreme Court order, it would be a "Herculean task" to make the plots cultivable again, senior officials said.

"Nearly 70 per cent of the Singur land have been filled up with concrete, stone chips and sand. Concrete constructions have been made in several places. It will be tough to make the plots cultivable in three months," an official said.

He said that initially, the land could be returned to the farmers within 12 weeks and later, the government would take the initiative of converting the character of the plots to make them cultivable.

Officials said it would be difficult to make the land fit for cultivation because the topsoil had been destroyed.

"The topsoil, which is about 11 to 15 inches deep, is the most fertile portion of the land. Once it is destroyed or filled up with stone chips and sand, it is not easy to return it to its original character," a senior agriculture department official said.

According to an agriculture scientist, it is possible to make barren land cultivable, but the process is time-consuming and costly.

"First, the sand, concrete and stone chips have to be removed and the area will have to be filled up with soil. Then organic fertilisers have to be applied and allowed to settle for at least a year," the scientist said.

The chief minister sounded hopeful of converting the character of the land at the earliest.

"We will do whatever is required and deploy as many people as possible to convert the plots into cultivable ones," Mamata said.

She said she would restore the rights of the bargadars who used to cultivate the land before the acquisition.

The process of returning the plots to the owners will start with a survey of land records and the original land maps to find out the exact quantum each person will receive. The survey will be completed within four weeks, a source said.

Before starting the process of returning the plots, the state government will have to issue a notification mentioning that the Supreme Court has scrapped the acquisition of land in Singur and so the original owners will get back land rights.

Correction

Thursday's report headlined "Options few, Tatas eye compensation" erroneously attributed the following statement to Tata Motors instead of a lawyer not associated with the case: "Political parties may change but the government is a continuity. The company took lease of the land in good faith. But it now looks that they were given a bad land title. The company may seek compensation on that ground." We apologise for the mistake.