Will Tata’s Nano car project be delayed?

Will Tata’s Nano car project be delayed?

By Khabrein.Info Correspondent,

New Delhi, Aug 24, 2008: Will Tata’s Nano car project be delayed? Every one is asking the same question after Ratan Tata threatened to close down the Singur plant and relocate somewhere else.

It has been a very long time since regular sit-ins and dharnas have been organized over the acquisition of farmers’ lands in Singur for Tata’s Nano car plant. The agitations that at times take violent turn have continued despite state government trying to do everything to stop protestors from organizing protests.

Mamta Banerjee has been leading the protests there and has been rewarded handsomely for her continued agitations for farmers’ land. In Panchayat elections she was rewarded handsomely by electorate for siding with them.

But she could have never spearheaded the sort of agitation without the support of the local farmers whose lands were acquired at times against their wishes.

Ratan Tata’s comment that came two days ago in Kolkata in the eye of renewed agitations were the most furious from the high profile industrialist. He threatened to relocate the project despite investing around 1500 crore rupees. “If anybody is under the impression that because we have made this large investment of about 15 billion rupees we would not move, they are wrong”, said Ratan Tata. He went on to add, “There is a definite concern of being where we are not wanted and there is a definite concern about being where people are suspicious of our motives.”

Despite all assurances from Tata that planned to roll out the aam admi’s car (common man’s car) in October costing approximately Rs 1 Lakh, this became more than clear when Ratan Tata, the brain behind the project said that he will relocate the Singur factory to somewhere else, if the agitation there does not end.

And there is no indication that the agitation in this restive place is going to die down any time soon. On the contrary the agitations have again taken serious turn and Mamta Banerjee the Trinamool Congress chief is swearing that she would not allow the project to be completed on people’s ‘occupied’ lands.

Nano the small car that was first showcased at the Auto Expo early this year in New Delhi had caught the people’s imagination. When the people first heard about Rs 1 lakh car they thought that it may well look more an auto rickshaw than a car. Apparently even a CNG auto rickshaw in Delhi cost more than Rs 3 Lakh.

But they were wrong like many doomsayers. When the car was showcased it baffled many. They were amazed as to how Tatas were able to build a car that looked a car and also looked very beautiful. It made cover page stories across the globe not just in auto magazines but mainstream newspapers and magazines as well.

Despite prices of everything shooting like never before from petrol to steel and everything else, Ratan Tata has clearly reiterated that they are not going to revise the prices of the entry level Nano and that it will be lakhtakia car (car that would cost just Rs 100000).

But now it seems the people’s agitation may well derail the project.

Mamta Banerjee has hardened her stance against the project. She came out more forcefully after Ratan Tata threatened to pull out of Singur. Mamata Banerjee said that unless the disputed 400 acres acquired for the Tata Motors plant at Singur were returned to the farmers, Nano may not see the light of the day. Mamata Banerjee said there was no turning back from her declared political movement, unless the Tatas and the State Government took the initiative to settle the land crisis.

Mamta Banerjee said, “Mr Rata Tata should understand that Bengal would not tolerate forcible acquisition of lands and a deathblow to its agriculture. And the recent panchayat and municipal poll results in Singur and Nandigram reflects that”.

On the other hand Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the West Bengal chief minister has assured Tata full security at the site and has said that the first Nano will roll out from its Singur plant in October. “Some state governments have offered land to the Tatas to shift their small car plant from Singur, but I would like to assert that the project will be a reality ... the first car will roll out in October. Nobody can obstruct it”.

The chief minister said that 85 per cent of the project's construction was over and work in the ancillary units was in progress.

In the meantime several state governments have come forward and have asked Ratan Tata to build the Nano plant in their states. Vilasrao Deshmukh, the Maharashtra chief minister was first to come out and make the offer. “I could read from Ratan Tata's statement that he is troubled in West Bengal so I invited him to come here instead and we will give him a red carpet welcome. There are a lot of probable sites for the Nana project in Maharashtra. We have a mega-project policy in Maharashtra and whatever concessions there are in that policy will be given to the Tatas if they decided to come here” Deshmukh said.

He added “We will offer a market price to the farmers and give proper compensation for their land. All problems related to land acquisition for industry have become synonymous with the state of West Bengal”.

Haryana chief minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda was second to make an offer. He aid that Haryana was the best place to build a car plant. He said that fifty percent cars being produced in the country were being produced in his tiny state.

Haryana’s neighboring state Punjab could not be far behind. Punjab government invited a delegation of the TATA group to come and meet the state chief minister Prakash Singh Badal. State industry minister said, “I will soon write an offer letter to TATA Group to formally invite them to install its Nano plant in Punjab, for which every possible facility will be provided by the state government”.

Several other states too have made offers to Tata. This include Orissa and Karnataka as well.

Nano has been a dream project not just for Ratan Tata but the whole nation. People have been mesmerized over Ratan Tata’s vision for this small car. “I observed families riding on two-wheelers, the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors' engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People's Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People's Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility” Ratan had said while unveiling the car at Auto Expo in New Delhi.

Nano, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.

Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, with adequate ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas. Its mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the powertrain at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and manoeuvrability, which will set a new benchmark among small cars.

Ratan Tata won many a hearts when he said, “Since we started the project four years back, there has been a steep increase in input cost, but a promise is a promise”.

Though keeping the price under control will be tough, but Ratan Tata has made a promise and people believe that he will fulfill his price.

Source: http://www.khabrein.info