Bengal govt reaches out to Tata Group, seeks to resolve ₹765.78 crore compensation dispute over Singur
The BJP-led Bengal government initiated talks to set up new industries and resolve a dispute over compensation of ₹765.78 crore that previous govt didn't pay.
The West Bengal government has begun discussions with the Tata Group to address a legal dispute over a compensation payment of ₹765.78 crore, originally ordered by the state's previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, reported officials. Industry Minister Tapas Roy disclosed that officers had visited Mumbai this week to engage with the Tata Group, expressing a desire for their return to Bengal.
The state is burdened with debts from the previous administration, and the court mandated the payment of compensation to Tata Motors for losses incurred in abandoning the Nano project in Singur in 2008 due to protests by then-opposition leader Mamata Banerjee. The dispute emerged after the Left Front government acquired 997.11 acres of land in Hooghly district for Tata Motors' Nano project in 2006, despite Banerjee's demand for the return of 347 acres of farmland.
After a prolonged agitation and legal battles, Tata Motors relocated the project to Gujarat in 2008. The Tata Group subsequently sought compensation in the Calcutta High Court, leading to an arbitration tribunal's order in October 2023, which the state appealed to the Supreme Court but lost. Recently, the Calcutta High Court ruled against WBIDC's request for a stay on the arbitration tribunal's order.
State officials are now striving to negotiate a settlement with the Tata Group to resolve the matter.
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