TATA: Open letter to the president of India

"To Ms. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India
cc Mr. Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal
 
Dear Madame President
 
Since May 2006, when the plan to locate production of the Tata Motors Nano small car was announced and hundreds of hectares of fertile cropland were seized, the citizens of Singur have struggled for their rights, for their land and for their livelihoods. The issues arising from their struggle have not been resolved with the decision by Tata to manufacture the Nano in Gujurat. PBKMS and the Save Farmlands Committee, which has grouped the resistance in Singur while rigorously eschewing party politics, are demanding: that land is returned in fertile condition to all farmers who have rejected compensation; that sharecroppers and agricultural labourers receive decent compensation or land in return for the destruction of their livelihoods; and that rigorous environmental safeguards be established to protect agricultural land and food production in Singur and its surroundings. Their just, democratic demands deserve the active support of the federal government of India. We look forward to prompt action on the part of your government.
 
Yours sincerely.