No hope left for Singur project: Bengal Govt

After West Bengal State Industry Minister, Nirupam Sen’s comment in the state Cabinet on Thursday that the Singur project is not likely to take off; it is only a matter of time that Tata Motors will finally announce its pull back from Singur to bring out the world’s cheapest car ‘Nano’.

Amid nearly a month long agitation from opposition led by Trinamool Congress chief Mamta Banerje, and repeated reports of violence in and around the project site, it was highly unlikely for the company to move ahead in the absence of an amiable environment.

Sensing the virtual end of Tata’s Nano project to bring out the world’s cheapest car from Singur, the state cabinet on Wednesday appealed to the company not to shift their project from West Bengal.

According to sources, in an emergency cabinet meeting on Thursday, the Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee informed that the company didn’t want to continue the project under constant police protection.

The opposition has been repeatedly demanding that 300 acres of land should be given back to the farmers from within the Tata Motors project area in Singur. This was rejected by the state administration though it offered a different package of compensation to the agitating farmers. The Government says it is agreed for a land-based solution but against disturbing the Nano plant site.

Tata Motors had stopped its work at the site following a string of violent incidents. Reportedly, the company has started removing its resources, and possibly those equipments were carted out to company's another manufacturing unit in Pantnagar in Uttarakhand.

However, Tata is yet to make any comment on its plan of manufacturing the Nano from Pantnagar or from any other place. But, its intention is clearly visible with the moving out of necessary equipments from the project site that security to its workers and to role out Nano at the precise deadline are the sole priorities of the company.

Governor Gopal Krishna, too, while addressing a meet of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that People of the state wanted a solution to the Singur stalemate which they deserved.