Corporate rivalry at play in Singur: CPM

FE reports:

The CPI-M on Monday hinted that corporate rivalry could be behind the recent land acquisition row in Singur where the Tatas are planning to set up their ambitious Rs 1 lakh small car project.

Without naming any company in particular, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury set the cat among the pigeons by saying there could be more than meets the eye for the motivation to turn the Tatas’ land acquisition process into a raging controversy. “There may be some whose interests would be hurt when the Rs 1 lakh car comes out. It is for the media to find out who could be behind all this,” Yechury said.

For the record, Yechury refuted the charges that farmers were getting a raw deal, asserting that the “highest level of compensation” was being granted. Comparing the deal with similar ones in Maharashtra, Yechury pointed out that CIDCO paid only about Rs 24,000 an acre in the state, while Singur farmers were getting Rs 8.4 lakh an acre for single-crop land and around Rs 12 lakh for multi-crop land.

Don't know how true this is. But who knows!