Mamata calls for withdrawl of notifications for land acquisition

Kolkata, Jan 10 (UNI) Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today urged the West Bengal Government to withdraw all notifications for acquisition of land through a legal process and protect the livelihood of farmers.

In a statement, issued from the nursing home where she is undergoing treatment, Ms Banerjee said she was pained at the loss of lives in Nandigram which witnessed violence over land acquisition for an SEZ.

''I have learnt that the chief minister has asked the district administration to tear up the notification for land acquisition in Nandigram. But by doing so it is not possible to ward off the legality. I would appeal to the Government to withdraw all such notifications in the state through a legal process,'' she said.

Her statement came a day after Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee admitted a bureaucratic lapse for the unrest in Nandigram and indicated a slow down in the process of acquisition of land for the proposed SEZ in the area.

Squarely blaming the Haldia Development Authority (HDA) for the situation, Mr.Bhattacharjee had said he had asked the East Midnapore District Magistrate to tear up the notification, issued by HDA that identified land for the SEZ.

Alleging that the Buddhadeb Government had backed out on its ''promise'', Ms Banerjee said she had ended her fast hoping for the withdrawal of prohibitory orders in Singur and an end to the process of land acquisition. ''But the Government has rather extended the period of prohibitory orders while allowing the Tatas to go on with their project in the area,'' she said.

Ms Banerjee was admitted to the nursing home on the midnight of December 28 after she called off her 25-day hunger strike in protest against taking over of agricultural land at Singur for the Tata Motors small car project.

UNI