Hindustan Motors alleges unlawful takeover of Uttarpara plant by West Bengal govt

Time of India

5 days ago

Hindustan Motors
has accused the West Bengal government of unlawfully seizing possession of its
Uttarpara plant
in Hooghly district, even as the matter remains sub judice in the Supreme Court, reports PTI. The iconic plant, once the production hub for the Ambassador car, has been at the heart of a long-standing legal dispute over land rights.
In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Hindustan Motors said that on July 11, government officials, accompanied by police and land department personnel, forcefully entered the plant premises and took control of the site, seizing documents, machinery, equipment, licensed firearms and even a customs warehouse.
'The suo motu action taken by the government has caused considerable prejudice to our challenge before the Supreme Court,' the company said, adding that the matter is scheduled for hearing on July 22. The automaker also claimed that the state had earlier assured it would refrain from any coercive action until the case was heard.
The company lodged formal protests on July 11 and 14 with the Special Secretary of the Land and Land Reforms Department.
State Justifies Action Over Unutilised Land
In response, a senior official in the West Bengal land department told PTI that the government had legally resumed 395 acres of unused land in 2022 under provisions of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953. 'Hindustan Motors was given ample opportunity to demonstrate utilisation of the land, which it failed to do,' the official said.
In May this year, the Calcutta High Court had dismissed Hindustan Motors' writ petition against the state's action, upholding the government's right to reclaim the land. A plea for a stay on the order was also rejected.
The plant had ceased production in May 2014, and in 2022 the state formally resumed 395 acres through a notification. Of the total 720 acres once held by the company, 314 acres had earlier been sold to the Shriram Group in 2009 for ₹285 crore for real estate development.
New Industrial Plans at Uttarpara Site
The reclaimed land is now being leased to Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd for ₹126.63 crore for the expansion of its metro coach and Vande Bharat train manufacturing facilities. Titagarh will set up testing and commissioning infrastructure on the new parcel, which adjoins its existing 34-acre unit in Uttarpara.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier announced a state policy to repossess idle industrial land and reallocate it to active investors, citing land scarcity for new industries.
An official from the C K Birla Group, which owns Hindustan Motors, expressed surprise over the latest development but declined to comment further.
Hindustan Motors' once-glorious Uttarpara plant now sits at the crossroads of legacy and transformation, caught between a legal battle and Bengal's push for industrial revival.