However on the ground, the defiance has mellowed to a murmur. Landowners have given up hope of getting their farmland back and returning to agriculture. Instead they want industry to come up on the land. Tata Motors is also not ruling out its return to Singur. According to senior Tata officials, the company wants the state government to ensure a favourable environment for industry before it takes a relook at the deserted Nano compound. The CM is likely to make an appeal to all political parties in this regard when he visits Singur on January 9.
But Trinamool still stands adamant. The party won’t agree to the industry proposal unless the government returns 400 acres of the 997.11 acres acquired in Singur, said opposition leader in Bengal assembly Partha Chatterjee. There still remain 2,500 people who have not collected their compensation cheques — a sizeable section owning one bigha or less. They are losing out of steam. They want a settlement now.
Sensing the mood, CPM has started reaching out to the unwilling farmers yet again. "Farmers won’t be getting the announced compensation amount if they collect their cheques through court. About 11% of the amount will be lost in legal paperwork. We have requested the government to bear the expense for the sake of landlosers," said CPM state committee member Anil Bose.
At the same time, the ruling CPM is reaching out to the farmers, comparing the compensation package announced by the state government with the rates offered by the railways for setting up the freight corridor. "Ask how much the villagers got at Dankuni’s Mashat when the railways took over their land. It is Rs 3,000 a cottah, which comes to Rs 1.8 lakh for an acre. Whereas in Singur, the compensation rates are Rs 8 lakh for single crop land and Rs 12 lakh for double-crop land," said CPM’s Hooghly leader Sunil Sarkar.