Tata Motors hails Govt's rehabilitation initiative...

Striking a posture different from the past few days, Tata Motors on Sunday hailed the West Bengal government's initiative on the Nano car project even as Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee appealed to Trinamool Congress to agree to the rehabilitation package offered by it to land losers in Singur.

"Tata Motors appreciates and supports the recent initiatives of the West Bengal government for Singur residents where it (the government) has acquired land for the small car project," Tata Motors said in a statement. "Tata Motors hopes these initiatives will evoke a positive response from the residents of Singur and that all stakeholders will contribute to creating a congenial environment for the long-term sustained operations of an industrial enterprise."

The government placed advertisements in newspapers announcing the rehabilitation package for those persons whose land had been acquired for setting up the car plant. Tata had earlier suspended work at the project on grounds that the atmosphere has not been congenial for carrying out operations there.

On the other hand, claiming a huge potential for employment generation is at stake if the Tata project is shelved, Bhattacharjee asked Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee to agree to the package so that work resumes at the earliest.

"We are not bothered whether it is Tata or Birla, whether it is a car of Rs one lakh or Rs five lakh. What we need is employment and the Singur project will provide 6,000 jobs," he told a CPI-M rally at Bardhaman. On the other hand, Congress said the state government should implement the agreement it had arrived with the Opposition on Singur in letter and spirit or it would be an act of betrayal.

Source: The Hindu