 "Vyapam, Shivraj Singh Chouhan")
The Madhya Pradesh government will allocate 1,125 acres for a proposed Japanese industrial township near the Pithampur industrial area in Indore on a part of land meant for India's first automobile testing track.
A nodal agency, the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP), was created to complete the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) at Pithampur.
Conceptualised in August 2005 to provide world-class testing to the automobile industry, the track is already late.
Soon after his return from a 10-day business trip, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced his government would develop a dedicated Japanese industrial township.
"The state has taken approval in principle for taking back land from the automobile testing track," Anupam Rajan, a Madhya Pradesh government spokes-person told Business Standard.
The NATRIP was given 4,143 acres of land by the state government.
Chouhan in June wrote to Union Heavy Industry Minister Anant Geete urging him to give back 1,125 acres of land from the total allocated to the NATRIP.
The investment from Japan is not known. Much will depend on the Union Cabinet approving land for the new township.
A committee constituted last year to look into enhanced compensation for land acquisition had submitted its recommendations to the central government, a NATRAX official told Business Standard. The state government had acquired the land from farmers, who had moved court against compensation.
NATRAX was planned as an international quality facility for tests relating to brakes, performance, electromagnetic interference, steering performance, noise, speedometer calibration, maximum speed, gradeability, fuel consumption, air-bags and anti-lock braking systems. Five other such test sites were planned in the country, in Chennai, Manesar, Silchar, Arai, Raebareli and Ahmednagar.
