Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata has announced his company’s decision to pull the Nano project out of Singur, but the vendors are yet to get an official intimation.
The 290-acre vendor park at the Nano plant site was the seat of controversy as Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee spearheaded her agitation, demanding that the entire park land plus 10 more acres be returned to “unwilling” farmers.
The company had repeatedly stressed that in order to keep the integrated nature of the plant unharmed, the vendor park site could not be tampered with. Now, it is interesting that when the Tatas decided to drive the Nano out of Singur, the vendors were not officially intimated. However, all vendors maintained that they were committed to the project and would relocate with Tata Motors if necessary.
Leading vendors such as Exide Industries said that the company could not have delayed a decision on Singur further.
Speaking at a press conference after his meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Tata said that the company would try to be as close to the deadline as possible and thus, had to take a decision now.
All vendors whom Business Standard spoke to admitted that there would be significant financial losses for them in case of a relocation. At the same time, many pointed out that Tata Motors has unofficially conveyed they would be offered some form of cushion.
Caparo Engineering, supplier of sheet metal and body frames for the Nano, had already invested around Rs 100 crore on its facility at the vendor park and was ready to go into production. In case of relocation, the entire equipment will have to be shifted to a separate site as the product is customised for the Nano.
Another vendor ready to start production at the ancillary park in Singur, Lumax Industries, said that it was ready to supply from its facilities in Gurgaon, Pune or Chennai.