THE 10-YEAR BATTLE: ON GROUND AND IN COURT
The stir in Singur resulted in a momentous judgment against forcible acquisition of land
2006
18 MAY: Tata Motors announces Nano plant in Singur 25 MAY: Tata officials surveying the land at Bajemelia village gheraoed 4 JUNE: Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (KJRC) formed with BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress and SUCI 13 JULY: 1,250 farmers throng district magistrate’s office to record unwillingness to part with land 18 JULY: Mamata sows paddy at Khaserveri, defying the order to not farm anymore 14 AUGUST: Block land reforms office staff heckled while on their way to serve land acquisition notice at Bajemelia 30 NOVEMBER: Section 144 across Singur, Mamata stopped at Dankuni on way to Singur, returns to Kolkata and enters Assembly. Party MLAs ransack assembly 1 DECEMBER: Government starts taking possession of land 2 DECEMBER: Government faces resistance from farmers Lathicharge and tear gas used to disburse gathering, houses ransacked, over 100 injured
4 DECEMBER: Mamata starts her 25-day-long dharna at Dharmatala demanding the acquisition process to stop
2007
FEBRUARY: Petition filed in Calcutta high court challenging the land acquisition by the then Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee govt MARCH: Tatas start construction of the plant
2008
JANUARY 2008: Calcutta high court rejects the petition after the state government says that it followed the rule book 15 FEBRUARY: Tata Motors announce that first Nano to be rolled out of the plant by October MAY: Trinamool gets landslide victory in Singur panchayat polls 24 AUGUST: Mamata starts 16-day dharna in front of Nano site 3 OCTOBER: Ratan Tata pulls out of Nano project
2011
JUNE: Mamata Banerjee government passes Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill to take back land from the Tatas, forcing them to approach the Calcutta HC 28 SEPTEMBER: A single bench of Calcutta high court holds the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act ‘constitutional and valid’
2012
22 JUNE: A division bench holds the new Act ‘unconstitutional and void’ 7 AUGUST: State government moves SC against the verdict of the division bench
2016
11 MAY: Supreme Court concludes hearing of the case 31 AUGUST: SC division bench of justices Gopal Gouda and Arun Mishra says the land acquisition of 2006 is unconstitutional, orders govt to return land to farmers within 12 hours