WB government passes ordinance to reclaim part of Singur land

The West Bengal government on Thursday passed an ordinance for reclaiming 400 acres of land at Tata Motors’ abandoned site at Singur, which in turn will be returned to farmers who were not willing to part with it.
The state government also announced that it was ready to pay compensation to Tata Motors through a court-appointed arbitrator if the Tatas wanted to move out of the remaining 600 acres in the same compound. According to state government officials, this was a prelude to the amendment to the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which the state government was planning to introduce during the ensuing session of the assembly.
“Since the state assembly is not in session, we have promulgated the ordinance. Later, we will take clearance from the assembly,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee said. The ordinance, signed by governor MK Narayanan, is a government decree issued as a stop-gap arrangement before a proper law can be passed by the legislature. Most ordinances are valid for six months, after which they have to be either re-issued or endorsed by the legislature.
The chief minister said the ordinance would be placed in the next session of assembly, and said, “It is a historic day for the people of Singur.” However, a Tata Motors spokesperson said, “We are not aware of such a development and we do not want to make any comment unless we have studied the ordinance.”
The chief minister on her part said the remaining 600 acres would be kept open for industry and added that Tatas could set up industry if they wanted. "If they (Tata) demand compensation without going in for industry on this 600 acres, we will give them compensation through legal means by appointing an arbitrator," she added