At the heart of this dilemma lies the controversial — and vague — land-for-land deal agreed upon which prompted Tata Motors to put on record its disapproval: “Tata Motors Ltd. is distressed at the limited clarity on the outcome of the discussions between the state government of West Bengal and the representatives of the agitators in Singur...Tata Motors is obliged to continue the suspension of construction and commissioning work at the Nano Plant. We will review our stated position only if we are satisfied that the viability of the project is not being impinged, the integral nature of the mother plant and our ancillary units are being maintained and all stakeholders are committed to develop a long term congenial environment for smooth operations of the plant in Singur.”

No wonder then that hours after this, State Industries Minister Nirupam Sen told Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant that the government would keep its promise on not disturbing the mother plant. “Mamata Banerjee’s statements have created some confusion. On the issue of relocating the vendor park (where the ancillaries are), neither the Chief Minister nor the government gave consent. We will evaluate how much land can be given away without disturbing the project cluster,” he said. Said Bhattacharjee: “The state government is trying sincerely to hold them back.”

Of the farmers who have rejected compensation are many whose land falls in the 645-acre premises of the mother plant and in the 290-acre vendor park. Officials said there was a “disconnect” between the government and Tata Motors with some saying the company was not consulted on the “fine print of the agreement.” Many officials admit the land-for-land deal is a messy one and the government will work hard to push the pension scheme as a substitute.

The Tatas also resented the fact that “people with limited knowledge are taking a call on the project.” This was a reference to the four-member committee formed yesterday. It includes local Trinamool MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya, and Becharam Manna, a Singur Panchayat member who’s responsible for protests at the site. And Subrata Gupta of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and Neelam Meena, Hooghly DM. They meet tomorrow noon.