KOLKATA: The West Bengal Government will place before the Calcutta High Court on Thursday a status report enumerating reasons why the administration is unable to function in the troubled areas of Nandigram.

The report will also provide an account of the prevailing situation in the area where sporadic incidents of violence continue to rage.

On Wednesday, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice P.C. Ghose directed Advocate-General Balai Roy that a report be submitted before it on Thursday for a clearer picture of the situation in Nandigram.

CBI stand

Earlier, the Bench went through a report submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation on the police firing and the subsequent violence in the area on March 14. The Bench cited a paragraph from the report which said the agency had confined its inquiries to the mandate given by the High Court and it would be possible to ascertain facts more definitively only after a thorough investigation.

A day after the police firing, the Division Bench directed the CBI to inquire into the incident and submit a report. The report had been submitted on March 22. An affidavit from the State Government had also been placed before the High Court.

Except for the single paragraph that was read out by the Bench the rest of the CBI report would remain in a sealed cover until further notice, the court ruled.

Government version

On the likely contents of the report sought by the High Court Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy said: "We shall state our difficulties, why we are not being able to enter [Nandigram] and what is preventing us from doing so." "It could also be that the High Court issues a particular directive [concerning the developments]."

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