Trinamool taps RTI to access Tata deal

Kolkata, January 27: Besides street battles with the ruling Left Front on the land acquisition in Singur, the Trinamool Congress also sought to use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to get information on the deal struck between the State Government and Tata Motors. But the Government has declined to provide any details, citing provisions under the RTI Act.

The RTI plea was filed by Trinamool’s Partha Chatterjee, who is also the leader of the Opposition, on December 10. Among other things, he sought to know what incentives had been offered to lure the Tatas to West Bengal. A month later, the State Commerce and Industry Department replied that under Section 8-1(d), it does not have to disclose matters that it feels are a trade secret.

On Monday, the Trinamool appealed to the State Chief Information Commissioner, Arun Bhattacharya, claiming that under Section 19-1 of the RTI Act, the government is bound to reply.

“We have asked the government to make public the land deal with Tata Motors. I personally told Nirupam Sen, the Commerce and Industries Minister, to provide the lease deed. But they declined to give any information on the deal,” said Chatterjee, a former senior-level professional manager. “So we are knocking at the door of the RTI Commission,” he added.

But officials of the Commerce and Industry Department maintained that the government was not bound to reveal information that involves a third party, in this case the Tatas.

According to highly-placed sources in the CPI(M), Tata Motors has been offered a 16 per cent excise waiver for 10 years. But the incentive may not necessarily be linked to the deal at Singur, where the Tatas have allotted 997 acres for their small-car plant.

Sources in the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), which is steering the Tata Motors’ deal, said the department was now working on the details of the lease agreement. This will take time since the WBIDC has only recently got permission to work on the ground at Singur, the added.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool has said that the government cannot favour just one business house. Chatterjee said the government has allotted Rs 106 crore as compensation to the land owners in Singur so far. “The Chief Minister cannot use government funds according to his will,” said Chatterjee. “After getting the agreement paper, we will launch a protest movement against the State Government,” he added.

The lack of transparency in the Singur deal is posing a problem for Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, with even Left partners like the RSP and CPI crying foul over being left out of the inner workings. The State’s Public Works Minister, Kshiti Goswami, said the government has created an unnecessary air of suspicion by keeping the details of the deal to itself.

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