Calcutta high court clears Tata Motors' Singur factory

18 January 2008

Mumbai: The Calcutta High Court today threw out a slew of complaints against Tata Motors' Singur project, saying there was no anomaly in the acquisition of land by Tata Motors.

A two-judge bench of the Calcutta high court pronounced the judgement on a bunch of public interest litigations filed by some city-based organisations, including Lawyer's Right Watch and Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights, against the acquisition of agricultural land in Singur by the West Bengal government for the factory.

The court took only five minutes to decide on 11 similar petitions challenging the project.

Tata Motors, which unveiled the $2,500 Nano last week, said the new four-seater would roll out later in the year from its factory in West Bengal.

But controversy dogged the factory after local farmers complained the state government had forcibly taken their land.

The factory, about 35km from the state capital, is coming up off National Highway 2 in Hooghly district.