'Compensation for Nandigram victims after inquiry'

Compensation to the families of the victims of police firing and violence on March 14 in Nandigram would be looked into after the administrative enquiry to go into the causes of the police action was complete, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee said on Saturday.

Bhattacharjee told a Left Front meeting on Nandigram that as an administrative inquiry was in progress into the March 14 firing leading to 14 deaths, the questions of compensation and rehabilitation would be looked into after its findings were available.

According to a source, the chief minister told the meeting that compensation, which is a major demand by allies and opposition parties, could be given after following due procedure.

Under fire from a section of left intellectuals over Nandigram, the chief minister told the meeting that it was necessary to admit mistakes and convince them.

"I am interacting with intellectuals who are upset. We have to convince them of our programmes and admit mistakes," he said.

Bhattacherjee who has publicly announced scrapping of the chemical hub at Nandigram following the deaths there, said "We have decided to start a social and political process to normalise the situation in Nandigram."