CPI(M) readies peace package for Singur

But, CPI(M) insiders said the party is now divided on the details of the package. On the one side is Basu, who says some of the 997 acres acquired for the project last year can be returned. Another section is opposed to reorganising the Tata Motors car project site and would like to offer alternative land to the unwilling.

Mamata wants the Government to return land of all farmers who are not willing to move out and have declined to accept the compensation cheques. According to Mamata, farmers owning a total of around 300 acres are unwilling to move out.

However, the biggest hurdle is legal. Land and Land Reforms Minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah said the Supreme Court has made it clear that land once acquired cannot be returned.

Basu said the aim is to find an amicable solution. “I think it is possible,” he said, “but there are many questions. There is not much land. Legal complications are there. But, even so, Nirupam Sen is working out something.” As such, the final package would be discussed at a Left Front meeting to be held on Saturday.

Nandigram families to return today

KOLKATA: The stalemate over the return of the ousted CPI(M) supporters in Nandigram could be over soon. If things move smoothly, the 325-odd families living in the camps of Khejuri will be getting back to their homes on Saturday. The district police conveyed this information to the CPI(M) leadership in Nandigram on Friday. It appears that the hostility between the two sides, the CPI(M) on one side and the Save Land Committee on the other, is coming to an end, even if temporarily. ENS