A Timeline of the Events in Singur

2006 May 18: Tata group chairman Ratan Tata announces the small car proj ect at Singur, 40 km from Kolkata, on the same day that Buddhadeb Bhat- tacharjee was sworn in as the state’s chief minister. May 25: Demonstrations by farmers. The government proposes discus- sions of the issue with the opposition, but the opposition and the activists refuse to join the discussion. September 25: Government starts distributing compensation checks (12,000). A substantial number (around 5,000 landholders) accept checks. Many small landholders do not accept for vari ous reasons. October 27: Save Narmada activist Medha Patkar holds meeting in Sin- gur. Raises the issue of livelihood loss and says that compensation and rehabilitation cannot make up for loss of livelihood. December 2: Hundreds of farmers join protests, even as Patkar is arrested by state police. The land acquisition pro cess is complete. The government claims that most of the landowners have accepted checks. Opposition par- ties and activists contest the claim. Out of the required 997 acres, pay- ments had been made for 635 acres of land to 9,020 land title holders.

2007 March 9: Tata and state government ink Singur land deal lease. Building of factory starts, but the protest goes on.

2008 January 10: The Tata group unveils the name for its small car; say Nano will cost Rs. 100,000 (approximately $2,500 at the 2008 exchange rate) excluding taxes. Singur protesters burn Nano replica. January 18: Calcutta High Court says Singur land acquisition is legal.

xi xii A Timeline of the Events in Singur

May 13: Supreme Court refuses to block rollout of Nano from Singur. Protests go on and the opposition party and the activists demand that 400 acres of land be returned. August 22: For the first time, Ratan Tata says Nanowill move out of if vio lence at Singur persists. August 23: Several states, including Haryana and Maharashtra, ask the Tata group to relocate the Nano factory to their territories. September 14: The state government offers a fresh compensation pack- age for farmers, which was rejected by the Trinamool Congress and other activist organ izations. September 18: Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa offers the Tata group 1,000 acres in the Dharwad region. Other provinces in also offer Tata Motors land to set up a factory October 3: The Tata group declares its withdrawal of Nano proj ect. October 7: Ratan Tata and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi an- nounce Sanand, 30 kilo meters from Ahmedabad, as the new site. October 15: Counter protests start. Five thousand villa gers from Singur travel to Calcutta to demonstrate in order bring Tata Motors back.

2011 May 20: sworn in as Chief Minister of West Bengal, announces first Cabinet decision to return 400 acres of land to unwilling Singur farmers. June 14: Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, 2011 passed in West Bengal Assembly. June 22: Tata Motors appeals to the Calcutta High Court, challenging the bill. September 28: Calcutta High Court upholds the Singur Land Rehabilita- tion and Development Act, 2011. June 22: Calcutta High Court strikes down the bill on an appeal by Tata Motors. August 31: Supreme Court declares 2006 land acquisition illegal, and Tata Motors is ordered to return land within 12 weeks. Compiled from timelines of events published in The Hindu (August 31, 2016), Anandabazar Patrika (September 1, 2016), and the Livemint (Sep- tember 9, 2016).