Ratan Tata announced on 3 October 2008 that the Nano, the "Rs 1 lakh car", would leave Singur in West Bengal's Hooghly district for Sanand, Gujarat. Farmers who refused to sell land for the 997-acre site the Left Front government acquired, backed by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, had fought the plant since May 2006. In August 2016 the Supreme Court quashed the acquisition and ordered the land returned, and in October 2023 an arbitral tribunal awarded Tata Motors Rs 765.78 crore against the state's industrial corporation.
997 acres, 40 km from Kolkata
Ratan Tata and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, newly re-elected as Chief Minister, announced the Nano project at a joint press meet in May 2006 Outlook. The site was at Singur, about 40 km from Kolkata, and the state leased Tata Motors 997 acres there PTI via India TV. PTI's report on the 2016 verdict put the area at 1,053 acres; the state used 997.11 PTI via Business Standard IANS via Madhyamam.
The plant was expected to create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs Autocar Professional. On 23 November 2006 Bhattacharjee told the Assembly that farmers had "willingly handed over 913 acre of land out of total 998 acre" UNI via Oneindia. Down To Earth later reported that of about 13,000 farmers who lost land, 2,000 never took compensation and wanted it back Down To Earth.
The Save Farmland Committee
Tata officials were gheraoed while surveying the land. Writers, artists, rights activists and small Left groups joined the farmers, and Mamata Banerjee became the main leader Outlook.
The umbrella body, the Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (Save Farmland Committee), was a Trinamool-led platform of 20 organisations. It brought the SUCI and Naxalite groups alongside Trinamool, and activists of Medha Patkar's network such as Anuradha Talwar joined in UNI via Oneindia.
Lathis at the block office, a fast in Kolkata
The first big clash came on 25 September 2006 at the Singur block office. Trinamool workers led by party MPs and MLAs kept officials inside until late at night to stop cheques reaching willing farmers, and police used lathis. Government's position Bhattacharjee told the Assembly that police "had no option" and that "the car unit would not be stopped by force or any other means" UNI via Oneindia. Claim · Trinamool Partha Chatterjee, the opposition leader, alleged that police and "some ruling party members" later beat peaceful farmers, injuring three women UNI via Oneindia.
Fencing started on 1 December 2006, the day of a Trinamool bandh. The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) ran the work under police guard and Section 144. About 600 farmers gathered blowing conches and were held back UNI via Oneindia. After villagers clashed with police, prohibitory orders stayed in force for 55 days, from 5 December to 28 January UNI via Oneindia.
On 4 December Mamata Banerjee began an indefinite fast in Kolkata. "I began my 26 day hunger strike in Kolkata demanding that agricultural land cannot be forcefully acquired," she wrote in 2020 Tribune. Reports at the time counted 25 days. On 26 December police arrested 42 Trinamool activists, Partha Chatterjee among them, outside the state Secretariat UNI via Oneindia.
Bhattacharjee wrote to her four times; the last letter offered talks with unwilling farmers UNI via Oneindia. She called off the fast at the end of December. A Tribune editorial credited appeals from President Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, or the state's offer of talks Tribune editorial.
A killing inside the fence
On 18 December 2006 the charred body of an 18-year-old woman was found in a pit inside the fenced project area at Bajemelia. She was an agricultural labourer's daughter who had organised for the Save Farmland Committee Tribune. We do not name her, because the case included an allegation that she was sexually assaulted.
The CBI took over. Its prime accused was Debu Malik, a CPI(M) worker who led the security ring around the project. In August 2007 his lawyer told a Chandannagar court there was a conspiracy to frame him. The CBI's counsel replied that the arrest had not been made "without any confirmed proof" UNI via Oneindia. Suhrid Dutta, a local CPI(M) leader, was tried with him.
On 11 November 2008 Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Amar Kanti Acharya convicted both men of murder, criminal conspiracy and destroying evidence. The next day he sentenced them to life imprisonment and fined each Rs 10,000. CPI(M) leader Benoy Konar said the party's men had been framed and that it would go to the High Court. Mamata Banerjee welcomed the judgment Tribune.
Fencing poles pulled up and burned
On 4 February 2007 Krishi Jami Raksha Committee members pulled up fencing poles and set some on fire. UNI reported that they threw bombs and stones and that police answered with rubber bullets and tear gas. Several leaders were arrested, Anuradha Talwar among them. Section 144 was imposed again the next day, and police sealed the roads into Hooghly district to keep Mamata Banerjee out UNI via Oneindia.
Construction went on under police protection. Close to a third of landowners still refused compensation, Outlook reported, and some kept attacking the boundary wall. By 2008 the plant was nearly finished Outlook.
Twenty-one platforms on the Durgapur Expressway
Trinamool won Singur, and Nandigram, in the May 2008 panchayat polls. Mamata Banerjee's demand was 400 of the 997 acres, the share she said belonged to unwilling farmers; Tata said it needed all of the land Outlook.
The indefinite sit-in started on 24 August 2008. Twenty-one temporary platforms ran for about 3 km along the Durgapur Expressway (NH 2), from Gopalnagar to Joymolla, and road links between Kolkata and Bardhaman and Bankura districts were cut. Trinamool MP Mukul Roy alleged that CPI(M) cadres attacked his party's workers on the second night UNI via Oneindia. A truckers' association said about 1,000 trucks were stuck on a 62 km stretch Business Standard.
By 30 August work had stopped; Tata would not run the plant "in the face of obstructions and intimidations", the Tribune reported. Bhattacharjee and CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose told her that meeting the demand would mean scrapping the project Tribune.
Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi brokered a deal at Raj Bhavan late on 7 September, and the siege was lifted Asian Age via India Environment Portal. The deal soon broke down over the amount of land. Mamata Banerjee wanted 300 acres from inside the site; the state offered 70 The Hindu via India Environment Portal.
"Ms Banerjee has pulled the trigger"
Ratan Tata made the announcement after meeting the Chief Minister. He called the agitation "the sole reason" and cited the safety of staff, contractors and vendors Tribune.
I think some time back I mentioned that if somebody puts a gun to my head, the person will either have to pull the trigger or take the gun away because I will not move my head. I think Ms Banerjee has pulled the trigger.
Ratan Tata, Kolkata, 3 October 2008 (Outlook)
"To the best of my knowledge, the land was acquired legally," he said Tribune. The next day the CPI(M)'s Hooghly unit called a 10-hour Singur bandh. Groups of "willing farmers" and suppliers blocked NH 2 by burning tyres and felling trees UNI via Oneindia. "We have lost the Singur battle, but our battle for industrialisation is not over," Bhattacharjee said on 5 October Tribune.
Tata Motors and Gujarat signed an agreement on 7 October 2008 for a plant at Sanand, near Ahmedabad. Ratan Tata thanked Chief Minister Narendra Modi for quickly allotting about 1,100 acres Tribune.
Forced acquisition or negative politics
The farmers and Trinamool
The protesters said fertile, multi-crop land had been taken by force from farmers who never agreed to sell. Their demand was that land of farmers who had refused compensation be given back, and they proposed other plots for the ancillary units UNI via Oneindia. Mamata Banerjee also accused the government of giving Tata "undue concession" for a Rs 1,500 crore investment Tribune. In 2022 she said: "I did not drive out the Tatas. CPI(M) did. They forcefully acquired land for the project" IANS via Sentinel.
The Left Front government and Tata
Government's position The state said most of the land had been handed over willingly and that police acted against people who obstructed lawful work UNI via Oneindia. Rupchand Pal, the CPI(M) MP for Hooghly, blamed the "negative politics" of Mamata Banerjee for driving out a project that "could have transformed the economy of the entire region" UNI via Oneindia. Ratan Tata later said "you cannot run a plant where the wall is being broken; you cannot run a plant where bombs are being thrown from all the sides" Business Today.
Trinamool in power, and an Act struck down
The Left lost the Hooghly Lok Sabha seat to Trinamool in 2009. Statewide, the Left's tally fell from 35 seats to 15 and Trinamool's rose from 1 to 19 Outlook. In May 2011 Trinamool won the Assembly election and ended 34 years of Left rule. One of the new government's first major laws was the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, which vested the leased land in the state so that 400 acres could go back to unwilling farmers Down To Earth. Police took the site overnight and Tata went to court Outlook.
Justice I P Mukerji upheld the Act on 28 September 2011. On 22 June 2012 a division bench of Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Mrinal Kanti Chaudhury struck it down as void. The judges found that the President's assent had not been obtained and that the Act was in effect an acquisition that conflicted with the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 PTI via India TV.
"Illegal and void": the 2016 judgment
On 31 August 2016 the Supreme Court decided the farmers' appeals in Kedar Nath Yadav v State of West Bengal. Justices V Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishra wrote separate judgments. They agreed that the acquisition was "illegal and void", ordered a survey within 10 weeks and directed that possession be restored "within 12 weeks". Compensation already paid "shall not be recovered" because the owners had been "deprived of the occupation and enjoyment of lands for the last ten years" PTI via Business Standard.
They differed on public purpose. Justice Gowda held that acquisition "for and at the instance of the company was sought to be disguised as acquisition of land for 'public purpose'", and that farmers' objections under Section 5-A had been rejected without reasons. Justice Mishra held that the project "would have definitely served the public purpose" PTI via Business Standard.
On 14 September 2016 Mamata Banerjee, now Chief Minister, handed out 9,117 land records and compensation cheques to 800 farmers at Sanapara. That was the spot where she had held the 2008 sit-in IANS via Madhyamam. The factory buildings were later razed and the plots handed back Outlook.
Project announced
Ratan Tata and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee announce the Nano plant Outlook.
Expressway sit-in
NH 2 blocked; plant work stops within days UNI.
Tata pulls out
Sanand agreement follows on 7 October Tribune.
Singur Act struck down
Calcutta High Court voids the 2011 law PTI.
Acquisition quashed
Supreme Court orders the land returned PTI.
Conditional stay
High Court stays the 2023 award only against security LiveLaw.
Rs 765.78 crore for Tata Motors
Tata Motors sought compensation from WBIDC for its lost capital investment. On 30 October 2023 a three-member tribunal ruled unanimously that the company could recover Rs 765.78 crore with interest at 11% a year "from September 1, 2016 till actual recovery", plus Rs 1 crore in costs, according to the company's stock exchange filing IANS. ETV Bharat, reporting the same award, gave the interest start date as 1 September 2011 ETV Bharat.
WBIDC challenged the award and asked for an unconditional stay. It alleged that the presiding arbitrator had attended Tata Motors or dealer-linked vehicle launches during the case without disclosing it. On 7 May 2026 Justice Aniruddha Roy found no prima facie case of fraud. He stayed the award for eight weeks, but the stay would lapse unless WBIDC secured the full principal and interest by undertaking or cash. He also imposed Rs 50,000 in costs LiveLaw Law Trend. The main challenge to the award under Section 34 is still pending.
A narrower ruling, and talk of Tata's return
The Supreme Court narrowed the 2016 relief on 13 October 2025. Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi held that it covered cultivators who had contested the acquisition, not businesses that "accepted the entire compensation amount... without protest". They reversed a Calcutta High Court order that had returned 28 bighas to Santi Ceramics, which had taken Rs 14.55 crore LiveLaw Hitavada.
The BJP won the 2026 Assembly election and is looking at talks with the Tata group about industry at Singur, Business Today reported in June 2026. The discussions were preliminary, with a new land policy and legal advice being prepared first Business Today. ETV Bharat reported that farmers still complain the returned plots cannot be farmed, and that many residents now want industry on the old factory land ETV Bharat. We found no report of what happened to the 2008 murder convictions on appeal.
Sources
- Outlook: When Ratan Tata's big Nano dream drowned in Bengal, accessed 12 Oct 2026
- UNI via Oneindia: Violation of law and order not to be allowed, says Chief Minister, 23 Nov 2006
- UNI via Oneindia: AITC demands CM's statement on Singur police lathi charge, 24 Nov 2006
- UNI via Oneindia: Singur demarcation continues under heavy security, 1 Dec 2006
- UNI via Oneindia: WB Assembly Opposition leader arrested while demonstrating, 26 Dec 2006
- UNI via Oneindia: Mamata to continue fast for another 24 hours, 28 Dec 2006
- Tribune: Editorial on the end of Mamata Banerjee's fast, 30 Dec 2006
- UNI via Oneindia: 144 CrPC reimposed in Singur after violence, 5 Feb 2007
- UNI via Oneindia: Accused remanded to another 14 days' judicial custody, 4 Aug 2007
- UNI via Oneindia: Trinamool workers staging indefinite dharna attacked, 26 Aug 2008
- Business Standard: Truck owners hit by Singur strife, 27 Aug 2008
- Tribune: Singur crisis deepens, 31 Aug 2008
- UNI via Oneindia: Work at Tata Motors stalled for fifth day, 2 Sept 2008
- Asian Age via India Environment Portal: Mamata ends stir after Singur deal, Sept 2008
- The Hindu via India Environment Portal: Mamata threatens to resume agitation, Sept 2008
- Tribune: Finally, Tatas pack up from Singur, 4 Oct 2008
- UNI via Oneindia: Ten-hour Singur bandh, NH2 blocked, 4 Oct 2008
- Tribune: We have lost Singur battle, says Buddhadeb, 6 Oct 2008
- Tribune: Nano moves to Sanand, 8 Oct 2008
- Tribune: Singur murder, 2 CPM men get life term, 13 Nov 2008
- PTI via India TV: Singur Act held unconstitutional by Calcutta High Court, 22 June 2012
- Down To Earth: High court declares Singur land Act unconstitutional, June 2012
- PTI via Business Standard: SC trashes Singur land acquisition for Tata's Nano plant, 31 Aug 2016
- Autocar Professional: Supreme Court asks Bengal government to return Singur land to farmers, 31 Aug 2016
- IANS via Madhyamam: Mamata redeems pledge, returns land to Singur farmers, 15 Sept 2016
- Tribune: Mamata reminds people of her 26-day hunger strike, 4 Dec 2020
- IANS via Sentinel: Not me, but CPI-M drove Tata Motors out of Singur, 2022
- IANS: Tata Motors can recover Rs 766 crore from Bengal as compensation, 30 Oct 2023
- LiveLaw: Supreme Court rejects company's plea to restore Singur land, Oct 2025
- Hitavada: Singur land won't be restored to firms, says SC, 14 Oct 2025
- LiveLaw: Calcutta High Court temporarily stays arbitral award in Singur dispute, 7 May 2026
- Law Trend: Calcutta High Court rejects WBIDC's plea for unconditional stay, May 2026
- ETV Bharat: Calcutta HC stays order for Rs 765.78 crore compensation to Tatas, 8 May 2026
- Business Today: Can Singur make a comeback?, 8 June 2026