Tata Motors will vacate the site in Singur in eight months, according to a top West Bengal government official.
“Last month, we received a letter from Tata Motors in which they said they would take another nine months to dismantle the structure in Singur and leave the site. Till then they will keep on paying the lease-rent for the land,” the official said.
In fact, the state government, without Tata Motors’ cooperation, can not go ahead with Chinese automobile manufacturer First Automobile Works (FAW), which showed interest in setting up an automobile factory in Singur. FAW representatives visited the state in November, looking for a site for setting up its unit. They were taken to different places of the state, including Singur, to select the site. The group zeroed in on Singur.
At this juncture, the state government has two options before it ? settle the matter with the Tatas or wait till the Tatas leave.
FAW, which has its presence in 19 countries, will set up the factory in colIaboration with automobile major Ural India Ltd. The joint venture company will require 600 acres for the factory.
Sometime back, India’s ambassador to China Nirupama Rao had, in a letter to chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb, praised the Chinese automobile giant. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had already said the government had received a few proposals for setting up projects in Singur.
Last September, after violent agitations by the Trinamool Congress-led Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee, the Tatas had closed down the Nano factory that was near completion. They were later given land at Sanand in Gujrat where the Tatas are now coming up with the new factory.