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Tata Motors alleges discrimination

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Ishita Ayan Dutt Kolkata
Last Updated : Jan 21 2013 | 12:53 AM IST

Accuses the West Bengal government of not taking action against companies for delayed projects.

Business StandardTata Motors has questioned the West Bengal government’s inaction on several industrial projects behind schedule while accusing it of discrimination over the Singur land.

The appeal against the order in the Singur case has mentioned a list of projects — three led by non-resident Indian (NRI) industrialist Prasoon Mukherjee’s Universal Success, Ural India, Jai Balaji Industries and Adhunik Metaliks — that have got delayed.

While the state government revoked Tata Motors’ agreement with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) on the grounds of non-commissioning and abandoning the small car project at Singur, the company feels no action has been taken against other companies with either delayed or half-done projects.

Ural India chairman J K Saraff, however, said the company had completed its first phase long back and were waiting for more land from the state.

Though the government has not initiated any action against the companies mentioned, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had publicly criticised Jai Balaji Industries for not utilising their land.

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Recently, she also announced that Mahabharat Motors (a joint venture between Indonesia-based Salim Group and Universal Success) could not manage the project and TVS Motor would take it over. Last Saturday, the state gave an in-principle approval for demerger of the two-wheeler business of Mahabharat Motors, a company incorporated in 2005.

Tata Motors had brought up the issue of discrimination earlier during the Singur case hearing at the Calcutta high court. The company had pointed out that JSW Steel’s project at Salboni was delayed by about three years.

JSW Steel has had its share of run-in with the state government. The land acquired by the company was vested with the state government, as it claimed that JSW Steel had violated the Land Reforms Act. The Act places a ceiling of 25 acres on land acquisition, while Section 14Y of the land Act waives the ceiling.

Recently, the state government decided to grant JSW an exemption under this section.

JSW Steel, which had entered into a development agreement with the state government, does not have a lease deed, something which distinguishes its case from Tata Motors’. Tata Motors had signed a lease agreement in 2007 and was hence, subject to its different clauses.

The company, however, has reminded the state government time and again during the course of the case, the circumstances that led to its pullout.

An agitation led by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee for return of land to “unwilling land losers”, had led Tata Motors to pull out its Nano project from Singur, when the plant was almost ready to roll out cars.

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First Published: Nov 08 2011 | 12:17 AM IST

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