Both the warring sides claim they are keen to see industry come up in Singur — the abandoned site of the Nano factory near Kolkata. But nine months after the decision to relocate the Nano factory, there has been no forward movement on setting up an industry in Singur.
West Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen told Business Standard: “We are yet to hear from the railways and are awaiting a concrete proposal from them.”
Sen also claimed he had the assurance from the Tatas that should the government want to set up industry on the land, they would create no problems in handing over the land. “Ratan Tata has told me personally that if there is a good, well-conceived proposal to set up an industry, he will immediately hand over the land to the government.” The Singur plot consists of almost 1,000 acres. According to Sen, while the Tatas hold most of it, a few other vendors have also been given the lease.
This is in stark contrast to the concerns of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. During her Budget speech, Banerjee had mentioned that her ministry was keen to set up a railway coach factory at Singur, but was not sure if the state government could give the land.
“I will build a factory if I get 600 acres of that land and the state government returns the rest to the farmers. But there is a big question mark on whether the state government can give the land,” she had said on February 24 during her Budget speech.
Sen, however, said today that the railway ministry was yet to give any concrete proposal on its coach factory. “We had written two letters. We had asked them to visit the site and tell us which part of the plot they wanted to use. We have no idea about her (Mamata Banerjee’s) plans. We only hear from news reports that she wants to build a rail factory in Singur.”
Banerjee, however, has made it clear that she wants to use only 600 acres of the Singur plot and build a coach factory, provided the West Bengal government returns the rest of the land to “unwilling farmers”. An amused Sen today quipped: “I don’t know if there is a precedence of returning land in this manner, anywhere in India. The railway and the defence ministry are the largest acquirers of land. These land acquisitions are done by state governments. Can you show me an example where the railway ministry has told the state to return land to farmers?”
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Sen, however, admitted that the state government was yet to find an appropriate willing investor to set up an industry in Singur. Another Central PSU — Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) — had shown interest and even surveyed the plot to build a power plant. But it reported back that the plot was not suitable for a power plant.
In August last year, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced for the first time that she wanted to build a railway factory in Singur. The CPI(M)-led state government initially wanted to set up an alternative automobile hub, but soon had to change its mind and show interest in Banerjee’s proposal, as it found no suitable investor. A Chinese company had said it was interested, but the Left-ruled state didn’t find the proposal encouraging.
Singur now waits for its turn to get a factory, while the war of words between the state government and the railway ministry continues.