Aug. 27: On a day angry farmers greeted officials conducting an “initial survey” of land likely to be acquired in North 24-Parganas, the government said district magistrates have been told not to undertake investors’ recce without its permission.

Some residents of Malan- cha mouza in Bijpur, about 35km from Calcutta, today refused to give their plots for a 100-acre Bhusan Steel project when land revenue officers wanted to see if their documents had been updated.

“You may check our papers whenever you please, but we are not parting with our land,” said Manik Dhar (name changed because he feared a CPM backlash), who along with his brother owns over 1.5 acres.

Some CPM supporters allegedly pushed Dhar away. Three others who came to his rescue were also said to have been roughed up.

As the news of the protest spread, politicians came rushing. Local Trinamul Congress leaders called MLA Partha Chatterjee, who held a rally in the area yesterday.

“We’ll resist any move to take land for the project,” Chatterjee said in Calcutta.

The local CPM legislator from Naihati, Ranjit Kundu, came to pacify supporters and claimed later that the officials did their job in peace.

Land department officials said documents for almost 100 acres in the Malancha, Khasbati and Rajendrapur mouzas were inspected.

Lack of communication between departments had earlier created confusion in Nandigram over land acquisition.

A bloody protest began there even before any move to acquire land had been made officially.

Land minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah said: “Investors must place their proposals before the commerce and industries department or the housing department, which will then forward them to us. Also, the government should decide on the land to be shown.”

His department was in the dark about the proposed acquisition at Deganga, South 24-Parganas, which erupted in March following rumours fuelled by a land revenue officer’s letter identifying land for acquisition. The officer was apparently acting under instructions from other ministers.

Mollah said investors would not be allowed to inspect “land randomly in places of their choice as it might lead to misgivings in villagers’ minds.

Barrackpore subdivisional officer J. Chatterjee said: “We had sent our officers to Bijpur to conduct an initial survey of the land and its files.”