Tata Motors set to pull out from Singur

Kolkata: Tata Motors is all set to pull out of Singur in West Bengal, from where it was to roll out its low-cost car Nano.

The company said it is “evaluating alternate options for manufacturing the Nano car at other company facilities and a detailed plan to relocate the plant and machinery to an alternate site is under preparation.”

It said “to minimise the impact this may have on the recently recruited and trained people from West Bengal, the company is exploring the possibility of absorbing them at its other plant locations.”

Tata Motors is expected to stick to its schedule of rolling out the Nano shortly, from its Uttarakhand plant. Several States have wooed Tata Motors with offer of land.

The statement ends speculation ever since Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata group, said in Kolkata on August 22 that the company would not hesitate to pull out of Singur despite the investments in the plant.

The Trinamool Congress leader Ms Mamata Banerjee has been agitating against the project, demanding that 400 acres of the 1,000 acres acquired for the project be returned to the owners. The West Bengal Governor, Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi, took an initiative to find a solution to the deadlock, a move that was welcomed by both the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and Ms Mamata Banerjee. Both Ms Banerjee and the Chief Minister met the Governor today.

Tata Motors’ statement said that construction of the plant has faced challenges at various points of time. Some of the international consultants working on the plant had returned home and the construction work in the plant stalled since August 28.

“In fact, the existing environment of obstruction, intimidation and confrontation has begun to impact the ability of the company to convince several of its experienced managers to relocate and work in the plant. Further, several persons engaged in the construction and commissioning work who had taken accommodation at Singur and nearby areas have since vacated and have gone away due to intimidation and fear.” The company said it was constrained to suspend construction and commissioning work at the plant because of the continued confrontation and agitation at the site.

The project’s auto ancillary partners, who had commenced work at their respective plants in Singur, were also constrained to suspend work in line with Tata Motors’ decision. The company said that after five continuous days of cancellation of work, it believes that there is no change in the volatile situation around the plant.