Kolkata: The West Bengal government was making contradictory statements on the total land given away to Tata Motors for its small car factory in Singur, barrister Siddhartha Shankar Ray claimed before the Calcutta High Court today in a PIL challenging land acquisition there.

On one hand, the state was saying all the 997-acre acquired at Singur was for the Tata Motors plant, while on the other hand it stated in the same affidavit that the Tatas were given 645 acre in Singur, Ray stated before a division bench comprising Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice P C Ghose.

Claiming that laws laid down under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 had been blatantly flouted, Ray alleged that public money had been used to buy land which was then gifted to the Tatas for their factory. He stated that the preamble of the LA Act spoke of two kinds of acquisition, one being for public purpose and the other being for companies. But at Singur, land had been acquired citing public purpose and then given to a company, he submitted stating that one could not use both the clauses for one acquisition.

Ray alleged that that from the affidavit of the state, it was clear that the value of the land was paid for by the state government's agency, West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), which then gifted it to Tata Motors.

The PIL, filed by a person, Basudeb Das, challenging the land acquisition at Singur would be heard again tomorrow.