Nano production during Durga Pujas

12 July 2008

Production of the wonder car Nano, touted to be the cheapest in the world, is to commence during Durga Pujas. But the project is not yet out of the woods. The Bengal chief minister has ruled out returning 400 acres of disputed Singur land to farmers..

COME DURGA Pujas, production of the small and cheap car Nano will begin in the Tata Motors factory in Singur. About 75 per cent of the work at the Tata Motors project site has been completed and production will begin in October. But the project is not yet out of the woods with Trinamool Congress (TC) chief Mamata Banerjee set to launch a sustained agitation over returning 400 acres of land said to be acquired forcibly.

The West Bengal chief minister (CM) Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who spoke to Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant recently, told the state assembly late on Thursday (July 9) that the Nano will hit the production line in October. The CM was also categorical that the 400 acres of land acquired for the Nano factory that was being talked about, will not be returned. "With 75 per cent of the project complete how can the land be returned. Where is the land"? he asked.

It is relevant to point out that quite a section of farmers who were unwilling to part with the land but had to do so, have not collected their compensation cheques from the district treasury. They do not intend to do so and are continuing with their agitation with the backing of the TC. The party chief Banerjee has announced that from August a long drawn movement would be launched against Tata Motors. The agitation that Banerjee is spearheading, where the party has demanded that 400 acres of land that had been acquired from farmers without there consent, be returned, is likely to gain momentum given the party's victory in the panchayats in Singur. Bhattacharjee, who is acutely aware that land acquisition, was the reason for the dent in the Left's rural vote bank, however, made the statement in the Assembly on the land in Singur to clarify the government's position.

TC legislator Saugata Roy had earlier in the day, while speaking during the debate on the budget of the home department, threatened that the agitation over Tata Motors would continue and boundary walls will be broken again because the government had forcibly acquired land from the farmers. The chief minister, who is also the home minister, in his reply said the government does not want any trouble. There were discussions before the factory came up and changes made in the land alignment.

Bhattacharjee went on to say that for the state government it was not a question of having Tata and Birlas. The Tata Motors factory and the downstream projects are set to provide employment to 6000 people and that is what is important. He pointed out that Bengal had only one automobile unit – Hindustan Motors and said that many other automobile manufacturers have gone to other states to set up their plants. After a lot of persuasion the government has been able to sign a deal with Tata Motors and now a few more car manufacturers had evinced interest. In such a scenario he was disappointed at the stand taken by the opposition, he rued.

source:merinews