Kolkata: The West Bengal government is planning to distribute for free at least 200,000 acres of state-owned land among underprivileged people in a bid to regain the political support it lost after the forcible acquisition of land for industrial projects.
Gaining favour: A file photo of the Nano unit in Singur that Tata Motors had to abandon. After forcibly acquiring land for various projects, the state government plans to distribute 200,000 acres of land for free. Indranil Bhoumik/Mint
The takeover of some 10,000 acres of farmland had resulted in the Left Front government led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, losing votes in the 2008 village council polls and the 2009 general election, reversing the result of the 2006 assembly polls.
The state government is now trying to make amends by distributing land, both in cities and in rural areas, before the assembly elections scheduled for next year.