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Bengal minister repeats TMC’s promise to welcome Tatas but not in Singur
The minister told news agency PTI that talks are on with the Tatas for big investments in the state.
West Bengal industry minister Partha Chatterjee has reiterated that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government is ready to welcome the Tata Group to the state although the company was forced to shift its small car project to Sanand in Gujarat during the Left Front rule because of an anti-land acquisition movement at Singur by Mamata Banerjee who was then the face of the opposition.
Chatterjee, the industry and information technology minister of the third TMC government, told news agency PTI during an interview that talks are on with the Tatas for big investments in the state.
However, he clarified that agricultural land at Singur in Hooghly district will not be used for setting up engineering industries. “Why would the Tatas want to return to Singur? The land has already been given back to farmers. We are planning to come up with agro-based industries there as the area’s economy is based on agriculture,” said Chatterjee, referring to the farmland acquired by the Left Front.
After coming to power in 2011, the TMC said that it was open to the idea of setting up industries in Singur but not without securing the interest of farmers. On June 14 that year, the assembly passed the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill 2011.
Last month, Banerjee tweeted, “On this day, ten years back, the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill 2011 was passed in the WB assembly after a long & difficult struggle. We unitedly fought for the rights of our farmers & addressed their grievances, bringing in positive change in their lives.”
Stating that employment generation is a priority for the TMC government, Chatterjee said the state is ready to offer incentives to companies if they create jobs. He said the government wants prominent industrial houses to set up two large manufacturing units.
“We never had any enmity with the Tatas, neither did we fight against them. They are one of the most respected and biggest business houses of this country and also abroad. You can’t blame the Tatas (for the Singur fiasco),” Chatterjee told PTI.
“The problem was with the Left Front government and its forcible land acquisition policy. Tata group is always most welcome to come and invest in Bengal,” said Chatterjee, who is also the TMC secretary-general.
Chatterjee said the conglomerate has shown interest in setting up another Tata Centre in Kolkata to house its offices.
“We already have the presence of Tata Metaliks, one Tata Centre and the TCS. But if they are willing to come up with big-ticket investments in manufacturing or other sectors, there is no problem. Our IT secretary recently told me they had shown interest in setting up a Tata Centre here,” said Chatterjee.
Asked whether the state government will walk the extra mile to reach out to the Tatas, Chatterjee said he is already in touch with group officials to attract investment.
Known for multi-crop farming, Singur made headlines after Tata Motors set its sight on the land in 2006 to build its cheapest car, the Nano. The Left Front government acquired 997.11 acres along the National Highway 2 and handed it over to the company.
Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee offered several incentives to the company as he wanted to create a hub of ancillary industries at Singur. Banerjee called a 26-day hunger strike demanding the return of 347 acres of farmland that was “forcibly” acquired.
Following a two-year agitation by Banerjee and several litigations, the Tatas moved out in October 2008. The acquired land was subsequently returned to farmers in 2016.
(With inputs from PTI)
