Singur is cleared by HC

On Jan 10 when the Nano was being unveiled at Pragati Maidan, the opposition MLA of Singur ridiculed the name of the people’s car, and said it’d be so tiny that it’d remain invisible even through a telescope.

He further said that the name itself suggests that there’ll be no car manufactured from Singur plant. Well, he is wrong.

He is wrong for many reasons. First, the people’s car drew a record number of crowd who had to be controlled outside the pavilion before being let in. The visible enthusiasm was good enough to drive home the point that the car has indeed been a hit with common people.

Second, a US diplomat openly praised the design of the car. Third, during the just concluded China visit by the PM, there were reports that China wants to import Nano in large quantity.

Lastly, putting the final nail in the coffin of high hopes of the opposition, the High Court has dismissed all 11 petitions today morning that challenged the Singur car factory. Here is what the AFP report says (selected excerpts):

There was “no colourable exercise of power” by the state government in acquiring the land, Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice P.C. Ghosh said, dismissing all the 11 petitions challenging the land acquisition process.

A Tata Motors official would not comment on the court decision, saying it was up to the state government.

But the company “is moving along on target” for the jelly-bean shaped car, called the Nano, to roll off production lines in the second half of the financial year to March 2008, said the official, who wished to remain unnamed.

“This (court order) will definitely strengthen the industrial drive in the state,” West Bengal’s Industry Minister Nirupam Sen told reporters in Kolkata.