Mumbai: The West Bengal government began a survey to find excess land around the area of the Nano plant as part of an effort to end the stalemate over farmland acquisition even as some 20-odd vendors informed the state government that they were not in a position to either return the land or relocate their units elsewhere in Singur.

The vendors' stand may spoil the chances of a settlement with the leader of the protesting group, Mamata Banerjee, insisting that she won't settle for anything less than 300 acres inside the Nano complex.

The development could make things messier for the state government which was hoping to defuse the row by returning some of the acquired land to farmers while rehabilitating others on new plots.

Tata Motors is also insisting that the ancillaries are integral to the `Nano' project and that the mother plant cannot have an existence without a full scope vendor park around it.
 
The vendors say that construction work at their units is in an advanced stage and it would not be feasible now to either give up the land or relocate the unit.

Of the 55 vendors, more than 30 have already started construction at the site. With more than 80 per cent of work completed, the vendors say they won't be able to absorb the double expenditure.

The joint committee, set up to find a way forward for the Singur project, is also assessing the legal repercussions of a return of land acquired by the state for public purpose - the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 bars the state government from returning land acquired for public purpose – although opinions differ.

''We have visited the project site and identified some land inside the project area. We want 300 acres from the project site,'' said Trinamool MLA and the chairman of the committee Rabindranath Bhattacharya.   

The joint committee, which visited the plant site on Wednesday, is meeting today to go into the details of the land-for-land formula.