Nearly two decades after the fierce “agriculture versus industry” movement that reshaped West Bengal’s politics, factories are now coming up on farmlands not far from where protests once erupted.
Notably, across several mouzas in Singur, agricultural land is being steadily converted and acquired, often with the state government itself facilitating projects for private companies.
And yet, the one factory that made Singur a national flashpoint, the Tata Motors plant, never took shape here. That lingering regret still echoes among voters as a large section of Singur heads to the polls in the second phase of the Assembly elections.
Back in 2006, Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to industrialisation on multi-crop farmland in Singur became the turning point that eventually ended the 34-year Left rule in Bengal.
What's really coming up along Durgapur Expressway?
Today, however, along stretches of the Durgapur Expressway, cutting across areas like Gopalnagar, Ratanpur, Telipukur, Ghanshyampur, and Kapsaria, structures have come up on both sides. The same is visible along Delhi Road. Trinamool Congress leaders, during campaign rallies, have highlighted this as evidence of development, claiming that factories have come up along a 17-kilometre stretch of the expressway and more are in the pipeline.
But the question is not whether structures exist; it is what kind.
Like, in Maliyapara along Delhi Road, extending into parts of Chandannagar, a private company acquired around 300 bighas of multi-crop land to build a warehouse. While most of the land was purchased directly from farmers, resistance began when the company sought to change the classification of about 100 bighas. Farmers objected, and an official inquiry found merit in their complaints, briefly halting the process.
Eventually, the administration secured written “no objection” declarations from some landowners, stating that they had sold their land voluntarily and that agriculture would not be affected. The government then formally acquired the land and leased it to the company for 99 years.
CPI(M), BJP unite against TMC in Singur
However, the opposition argues that what is emerging in Singur is not industrialisation in the traditional sense, but rather a network of warehouses, logistics hubs, and truck terminals that generate limited employment for educated youth. Had the Tata car factory materialised, they say, it would have created skilled jobs.
“Even though both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister visited Singur before the elections were announced, neither made any concrete announcement on industrialisation. By driving out Tata, the Trinamool has already destroyed industry here, and now even agriculture is being affected. What is coming up along the Durgapur Expressway are not factories they are warehouses. Workers there are made to work 14–16 hours a day, and there is no scope for employment for educated unemployed youth,” CPI(M) candidate Debashis Chattopadhyay explained.
He also pointed out that Singur once had a functioning jewellery ecosystem based on wax work, but rising gold and silver prices have severely impacted that sector. Meanwhile, parts of Diara are being converted into fish enclosures, affecting the traditional farming of paddy, jute, and onions.
Also Read | EC orders probe after Diamond Harbour 'intimidation' video goes viral
“There is a factory in Jati, but it has led to waterlogging across large agricultural areas in Jati, Purushottampur, and Mallikpur throughout the year, severely damaging farming,” he added.
BJP candidate Arup Kumar Das echoes a similar concern, noting, “Some buildings are coming up along the roads, but these are not industries. If the BJP comes to power, we will build a proper industrial hub here. Only a double-engine government can bring real industry to Singur.”
The ruling Trinamool Congress, however, refutes these criticisms. Singur block president Anandomoy Ghosh argues, “Over the past 15 years, many factories have come up and are still coming up along the Durgapur Expressway from Dankuni to Mahishapur. These developments often don’t get highlighted. The logistics hubs are also generating employment for people from Singur as well as nearby areas like Haripal, Dhaniakhali, and Chinsurah. The claim that educated youth are not getting jobs is not understandable. Also, I am not sure whether jobs in industries can be divided so strictly between educated and uneducated.”
Is THIS the development Singur fought for?
Yet, nearly 700 acres, about two-thirds of the land once acquired for the Tata project, still lie barren. Farmers from Khaser Bheri, Singher Bheri, Bajemelia, Gopalnagar, and Beraberi say that even today, digging the soil reveals only concrete foundations and iron rods.
Former members of the Singur Krishijami Raksha Committee, including Mahadev Das and Mohanta Mallick, have now formed the ‘Singur Barren Land Reuse Committee.’ They have repeatedly appealed to the state government, writing to Nabanna and the Chief Minister, demanding that the 2,100 bighas of land returned after the Supreme Court order be restored for cultivation.
So far, there has been no solution. With few options left, many farmers say they are now forced to sell off soil from their land just to survive. Their worry is immediate; if the land is not made cultivable soon, the monsoon will once again fill it with weeds, making farming even more difficult.
That quiet anxiety now hangs over Singur. Once, the movement here was about saving farmland from industry.
Today, the question has flipped; what kind of development has replaced that land, and who is it really serving?
