Singur farmers want greater use of land, to urge PM Modi for intervention
The Statesman | 16 January 2026
A section of Singur farmers, who were actively involved in the Singur land agitation and later got back their land following the Supreme Court verdict, have said that only 30 per cent of the returned land has been made suitable for agriculture, while the rest still remains barren and unproductive.
The Supreme Court had ordered the return of land that was forcibly acquired earlier for the Tata Motors project. The land was handed back to the rightful owners in 2016, and the state government was directed to reclaim and reform the area to make it agriculturally viable and productive.
A total 997 acres of land, under the aborted Tata project, comprised five mouzas ~ Singur, Bera Behari, Khaser Behari, Gopalnagar, Bazemaliya and Singher Behari. Of these, Gopalnagar mouza remained largely unaffected by construction activities, and its fertile topsoil was not disturbed. As a result, agriculture resumed there soon after farmers regained physical possession of the land. Symbolically marking the resumption of farming, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had then sown mustard seeds in Gopalnagar. Farmers in Gopalnagar and Mahestala areas cultivated paddy, potato, mustard and pulses.
While around 300 acres were reclaimed and made fit for cultivation, nearly 700 acres in Khaser Behari, Bazemaliya, Singher Behari and other mouzas continue to remain uncultivated.
Dud Kumar Dhara and Mahadeb Das, frontline leaders of the Singur Andolan, said that despite receiving legal possession of their land in 2016, 70 per cent of it remains barren even today. “We felt deprived and unheard. Therefore, dissatisfied farmers formed the ‘Singur Bandha (Barren) Jomi Punor Byabohar (Reuse) Committee’ over a year ago,” they said.
According to them, representations were submitted to the district magistrate, the state chief secretary and the chief minister, seeking reclamation of the barren land, but no concrete action followed. “Though we got back our land, it is of no use to us in its present condition,” Dhara said.
The committee has now decided to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Singur on 18 January, urging him to intervene. The farmers have proposed that 50 per cent of the total land be reclaimed for agriculture, while the remaining 50 per cent be utilised for industrial development.
“The committee is non-political, committed to protecting the interests of farmers who are unable to farm their land, while also seeking industrial opportunities so that our educated children can find livelihoods,” said Dud Kumar Dhara, secretary of the organisation, and Mahadeb Das, its president.