MR. RATAN TATA ON SINGUR MOTOR CAR PROJECT

Question – Mamata Banerjee’s has been demanding to return the 400 acres of land, what is the reaction of Tata group.

Mr. Tata - We believe, yesterday I voiced our concern on various developments in Singur, if I have to give a slightly long reply, perhaps Ican answer some of the issues you have. We came to West Bengal at a time when many people considered us to be mad. There had been very little development in West Bengal, there had been very little investment. And Tata Motors decided they would locate one of their prime and most unique factories in West Bengal. Everybody had great apprehension about us making this investment in West Bengal. But this part of the country has always been ignored industrially for many years and we thought that it should not be ignored. This part of the country has to play and has always played a major role and as you know it was the centre of heavy engineering in the past, but it has disappeared from the industrial scene. So we decided to locate the small car factory in Calcutta. And mostly wanted and hoped for setting up to showcase the new industrialization of West Bengal. We leased property that was offered to us that had already been acquired. And as we were looking at a unique product at a very low cost we wanted it to be a consolidated car company with its ancillary suppliers incorporated in the same location, because logistic & transport cost are a major part of the component cost of any plant. We are trying to produce the car that has never been tried anywhere in world and at that kind of price. It will be a tribute to the young engineers if we achieve that. What has concerned us is the violence; the destructions have let us to be concerned about the safety of our employees, the safety of our equipments and investments and in fact of the viability of the process as such. We do not want to come to an area where we perceive that we are unwanted. We have not come here to exploit any segment, we are deeply concerned about the people of West Bengal, if, in fact,anybody has a history of dealing with serving the people of around their plants, I think we have displayed that kind of sensitivity. And we are deeply concerned about the people of West Bengal and the people around the areas where we have located our plants. There the people of West Bengal & Calcutta to decide whether we are going to be an unwanted resident or a good corporate citizen of West Bengal, and if it is the latter we will be very very happy to be part of this development. If on the other hand, if there is a view that for various political reasons, we should not be here or what weare trying to do should be altered, which cannot be.., then we would necessarily face an issue, very reluctantly, where we need to move. If anybody is under the impression that because we have made this large investment of about Rs. 1500 crores, we will not move, then they arewrong.. it is not a hypocritical investment. Because we would move whatever the cost to protect our people. I can’t bring our managers and the families to West Bengal, if they’re going to be beaten, if there is going to be violence constantly, if their children are going to be afraid to go to school, and surely that is not what West Bengal is. West Bengal is a highly intelligent, literate state. I think they have tremendous potential. The people of West Bengal, either in agriculture or industry, I think have a rightful place in the prosperity of India. And our hope would be that we can help bring this prosperity to the state. But if the state, for any reason, any segment of the state feel that we are exploiting them, first of all it is totally untrue, but if that is the feeling, we will exit. So, that has been my concern.

Question: You have already answered the questions I was going to raise, but what exactly is your anxiety? - the violence that is starting from 24th onwards or worse and finally do you.

Mr. Tata: My concern is no specific issue other than the fact that if there’s a sense of tension and violence and disruption, obviously that is not a conducive environment. I have to applaud all the people who have been working at the site; they are working under tremendous tension. Our compound walls have been broken, people have been coming in, and materials are being stolen. We can’t open and operate a plant with police protection, if that is the way it is to be before we start, you can well imagine our concern what will happen if we try to operate. If statements are made that no cars will be allowed to go out of the plant. May be we have no way to consider that we could be here. I have to say that the people on contract and our own people are working in tremendous tension. So, I do believe that these are the kinds of concern that we have.

Question: Do you regret coming to Bengal?

Mr. Tata: No, I am an optimist. And I am an Indian first and I believe West Bengal is very much a part of India. I have, unknown to most of you, lived in Jamshedpur for 6 years. I know West Bengal well; I have spent a lot of time in West Bengal. I have always had a very soft corner for West Bengal which is what led me to take this decision. The last thing I want is, or a feeling that Tata’s are unwanted, for what ever reason, in West Bengal. Because under those circumstances we could just revert back to the situation, Tata’s did not invest in any major way in West Bengal in many years. This is our token. Yes, we donated a hospital which will be operational in March or April. That has nothing to do with the industrial decision we make. But what we have looked at is that all our company is looking at West Bengal, be it in power, be it in metalics, be it in coking coal that we looked at West Bengal as a place for industrialization. At the same time we are extremely sensitive to the rural community and I think Tata’s more then anyone else are sensitive to the need for rural community to haveupliftment and although with the rest of India we have been in advance in water conservation projects, increasing the yields of agriculture, just we’ll do the same thing here. I don’t think that our involvement in West Bengal starts and stops with our investment in an industrial location. We have and always will be sensitive to the needs of the agricultural community and rural community because they are infact the majority of India. In this particular case all I can say that we leased land which was offered to us,which we believe and have no reason to disbelieve were acquired legally.

Question – Some people is saying that Singur deal is lacking transparency.What is your take and do you believe that by not making the deal public, State Government is adding fuel to further tension.

Mr. Tata - See, I don’t believe that there is a lack of transparency and I don’t wish to comment on what the government is doing or not doing. I believe for example that how we build cars, is our business, how the government operates, is their business and I think that our experience in this whole transaction has in the best of my knowledge been very transparent.

Question – In this juncture are you confident to roll out Nano in Octoberfrom Singur?

Mr. Tata - See, we are in a position to roll out Nano in October or close to October, but it seems that many people have desired not to see that happen. So, it’s very easy for people to block that from happening, but our desire is to see it take place and it can take place.

Question – Sir, you just mentioned that if such kind of violence continues,then you are going to move, this is what I understood you just mentioned,have you set some kind of a deadline, some kind of a situation where if such violence continues till this period of time I am going to move out from there?

Mr. Tata - No, please understand, I am making a very genuine statement. Idon’t have a motive, I don’t have a plan that I am working to, I have made a major investment here, to move would be a great cost to the company, and great cost to the Tata Motors shareholders, I think it is also going to be a great cost to West Bengal because I don’t know, because I don’t know how many Rs. 1500 crores investments would come to West Bengal. All that is happening in terms of violence and disruption is seeing a lot of visibility on television not only in West Bengal in India and soon beyond India. I hope if this untoward issue has to take place then West Bengal doesn’t get characterized as the trouble spot in India. It does not fall into the same category as some other trouble spots in India, where there is an urge to leave it alone and not to take the risk of investment because today what are we looking at, even for us the risk of having taken that investment. There is no time frame but there is a concern for our people, there is a definite concern of not being where we are not wanted, definite concern where people who are suspicious of our motive. And there’s a definite concern…about the…what should I say…where people are suspicious of our motive…because nothing could be far from the truth.

Question - Is there any plan B?

Mr. Tata - There is no plan B at this time.

Question - Will you accept any alternative plan just to save the project?

Mr. Tata-I have already explained to you that the vendors have already…let me just address that. The vendors have made as much of a leap of faith in West Bengal as we have. Without the vendors having come there and been willing to locate themselves adjacent to us and to be a part of our plan, there may not have been a Nano plant in Calcutta, because the components would have had to come from other parts of India. The component manufacturers have therefore made as much a leap of faith. They in fact will employ large amounts ofpeople and in fact following them more investments will follow in the terms of Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers. I would just like to raise something that I think I missed. As I see West Bengal what do I see in the years ahead? As things that West Bengal can aspire to. More jobs, higher education and the people of West Bengal sharing in the prosperity that has been there in other parts of India which I believe West Bengal have not shared in. There has to be a balance too that the rural community must prosper and West Bengal must be industrialized Somewhere that balance must be found. It’s been found in other parts of India and it must be found here. I don’t think industrialization can take place without being sensitive to the rural community…I don’t think the rural community can prosper without the industrialization that must also take place in the world of century.

Question - Sir, in the worst case scenario if you have to move this project out outside West Bengal then would it affect the fate of future possible investments by the Tata group?

Mr. Tata - Of course, it would.

Question – Return of the land is it possible to negotiate?

Mr. Tata-It’s not for us to negotiate. The ancillary people have committed themselves to come. In many cases construction of their plants is underway, although not totally in phase with our plant, it is because for two monsoons the site has been under seven feet of water. I cannot emphasize enough the hardships that we have undertaken which most of you are unaware of. We have had, apart from the disruptions, we have had floods, we had to fill the site at a great cost to ourselves. There’s been silting of the waters around us, which we’ve had to rectify. There would have been no cultivation in these last two years because the site has been like a lake.

Question - Mr Tata, are you thinking of talking to Mamata Banerjee?

Mr. Tata - Ms Banerjee made a statement that she would be open to talking to the Tata’s and Mr. Ravi Kant, our MD Tata Motors immediately wrote to her expressing Tata Motors willingness to meet with her and wrote to her giving a letter that explained our position to avoid any misunderstanding so that our meeting could be worthwhile.

(TRANSCRIPT OF MR. RATAN TATA’S MEDIA INTERACTION IN KOLKATA ON 22ND AUGUST, 2008)

The real scenario of Singur

The futility of the Trinamool claim of ‘400 acres land of unwilling farmers to return back’ was once more exposed when the original facts about the land acquisition scenario for the Tata Nano project at Singur came in publicly by State Government.

According to reports reaching here, about 82% of the land owners at the acquired land for the Tata project have already taken compensation for their land. Only the owners of about 254.36 acres of land are yet to take any state Government offered compensation for the lawfully acquired land at Singur. Owners of about 51.11 acres of land though agreeing to the governments proposal in this regard is still unable to take compensation for the acquired land, because personal &legal land related litigations are coming in the way of them accepting the cheques. The figures thus arrived points to only to the above mentioned 254.36 acres of land whose owners comprises of a meagre 17.17 %of the total acquired land .In all 13thousand 103 persons owned the acquired 997.11 acres of land out of which 10 thousand 852 persons comprising a bulk 82.82 % of the owners have already taken compensation for the land and are in support of the project. Out of the rest many are unable to take compensations due to land related litigations and family suits in courts regarding ownership rights of the land. Only a minority handful of owners exist who at the instigation of the opposition politicians’ are still unwilling to part with their land in the hope of better future deals as promised to them by the opposition politicians for luring them to protests. According to the emerging reality, the Trinamool’s claim that owners of 400 acre’s of acquired land are yet to take the compensations earmarked for them have once again proved to be totally baseless.

In case of the Bargadars, out of the 244 persons only 14 of them are yet to take the compensations announced by the state government. The rest 230 Bargadars have already taken compensations and most of them are employed with the project work itself. In this scenario, it can be recalled that West Bengal is the first state in the country to offer compensation for land acquired to the Bargadaars also.

If the acquired land is viewed through the plot holding pattern then about 3thousand535 plots existed there, out of which plot holders of about 1963 plots or 55.53% have got full compensation for the plots according to the basis of acquisition. While about 883 plot holders have received partial compensation i.e. 24.97 % i.e. a portion of the land holders have received partial compensation. Owners of only 689 plot holders have not taken there compensation which sums up to 19.49 % of the acquired land.

From the fiscal angle, the pattern of disbursement of compensations clearly shows that the total compensation for the acquired land amounts to 118.95 crores. Out of which 90.87 crores have already been disbursed. Only compensation amount of about 21.24 cores is still to be disbursed. Only about 25 lakhs of Bargadars compensation is yet to be disbursed. About 4.17 crores of compensations have been accepted by the owners but had to be deposited in the court due to internal strife’s between the co-owners or due to their pending family litigations in various courts.

But it has been cleared return back of 400 acres is not possible, even Supreme Court verdict also told that acquired land for public interest should not possible to return back, even if the project is to stopped for any reason, then this land should be sell through auction and the raised fund is to be used for public interest. Mentionable that state Government has acquired total 997.11 acres land, where the owner of these land are 10 thousand 852 people. Among them compensation cheque were received by total 8 thousand 890 people for 691.64 acre land. And still about 2251 people didn’t receive the cheque for only 305.47 acre land. Though among them many people still not get cheque for technical problem, and few are active TMC workers denied to take this compensation. But TMC supremo still rigid on stand to return back the 400 acres land ‘which are forcibly taken’ claimed by herself. Even now Central government heavy industry ministry also ruled out the allegation of TMC supremo Mamata banerjee that Tata got excess land for required in Singur. Even as the recommendations of national Automotive and Research and development Infrastructure Project , for the production one lakh car, there is needed 450 acres land for manufacturing unit. And then after every 1lakh additional car it is needed 25 percent additional land for the manufacturing unit. In Singur tata motors will manufacture about 3 and half lakh car so, as per the norms they have needed 650 acres land for manufacturing unit and another 600 acre land for ancillary unit. So as total its needed 1250 care land. But In Singur less than one thousand acre land was given to tata motors for their project. But is it any justify demand to return back the 400 acres land which are sctaer into pieces through out the whole project area.

SUDIPTA BOSE

Trinanamool snatches land from poor farmers, those got it in through land reform, in areas under its control after the panchayet polls

Kolkata, August 27: In aftermath to panchayet election, West Bengal’s main opposition “Trinamool Congress is slowly exposing its fangs as its worker’s across the state of West Bengal is robbing away the marginal farmer’s of lawfully recorded land in area’s under its domination. The 'pseudo farmer lover' TMC supremo when leading the anti-industriliasation movement in suingur for the interest of 'agriculture' then her supporters are enaged in forcibly snatching poor people's land which were distributed them under the land reform program initiated by Left Front government.

According to reports reaching here, in many places across the rural Bengal the Trinamool Congress is snatching away farmer’s land and obstructing the marginal farmers to till their very own land which were given to them under the “Operation Barga”. While in Singur the Trinamool is trying to pose itself as a friend of a nonexistent farmer’s cause, it has already lifted its pro farmer’s veil in cases that are being reported from Koochbihar in North Bengal to the Sagar Islands in the south Bengal . The Trinamool is taking the help of its newly elected Pradhans of the Gram Panchayets and has apparently targeted the villages where its has a own majority in the gram panchayet level. Summing up it in the language of a evicted poor farmer “Singur ora korche Natak, asole chaiche sara banglar chashir kapal fatuk’. The Trinamool is doing theatres in Singur, originally they want to smash the fore head of the Bengal’s poor farmers.

In Coochbihar, a large number of farmer’s were driven away from their land by the Trinamool led feudalistic elements in an apparent bid to reverse the social matrix prevalent in the rural Bengal after the operation ‘Barga.’ Such incidents have been reported in Dowshaguri Chandamari ,Chilkirhaat Putimari -Fuleswari gram panchayet area, and more than 78 landless beneficiaries of the land reforms has been displaced from their lands. In Suktabad of Kalbari gram Panchayet even a 4 bigha’s rightfully purchased land of a farmer hailing from the minority background, Abdur Rashid has not been spared. The poor farmer has been robbed of his only source of livelihood as he is not being allowed to step in his land also. Tilling his land is a distant dream for him right now. The local Krishakshaba appealed the opposition parties to restore the status –quo. But as usually it fell on deaf ears. According to the leaders of the local unit of Krishaksabha, in all 112 Bighas of land in all has been snatched away from the marginal farmers by the opposition in this fashion. The incident has shown the ultimate nature of the Trinamool Congress and the Congress who have done this, irrespective of the previous political affiliation of the poor land tillers. The local administration has however swung into action after complaints were lodged with the Local BDO office. the local BDO Shamden Dukpa when contacted has admitted the claims of the dislodged farmers over the farmlands .A meeting was arranged in the presence of the local police officers and the Trinamool Pradhans,where the opposition leader s under intense pressure from the AIKS activists promised to return back the lands .But once they stepped out of the meeting as usually violated the agreement and declined to handover the lands . Now the Krishak Sabha has planned a series of agitations to force the Trinamool to give back the land. In each of the cases the pre land reform era jotdars have an eye on those lands and it is well perceived that they are collaborating with the opposition to snatch away the lands from the tillers. District Trinamool president Rabindranath Ghosh when contacted declined to comment on this land grabbing by his partyman and defended his party worker’s by saying that their party supported erstwhile Jotdars and his patymen are the owners of the land and the tillers are imposters. The Secy. of the local unit of AIKS Nripen Gayen has said that larger agitations are being planned to expose and to force the feudal elements to hand back the land to the original owners.

Same type of incidents have been reported in Kalna (1) block of the Burdwan district of West Bengal. Buoyed by its success in the recent polls in the block the Trinamool led feudal miscreants laid siege to farmers land in approximate 26 bigha’s of land belonging to marginal farmers in Shikharpur, Begpur Kalyanpur ,Nandai & Kalyanpur Gram panchayet of the Kalna(1) block. However in each of the cases the Krishakshaba has been able , ultimately to defeat the ulterrir designs of the the Trinamool supported feudal elements . Biswanth Sarkar, secy of the Krishaksabha’s Kalna Unit told that this design of the Trinamool has exposed their pro feudalistic antecedents in the eyes of the people of the whole state . Its sinister ploys to destroy the landless farmers and the Bargadars in one hand and to act as a farmer representative on the interest of the big land lords has once more been exposed . Same incidents has been reported from numerous GP’s of Sagar Islands in South 24 Parganas also. In Dhablaghat physical attacks are being conducted on the original land holders and the tillers are being threatened to vacate their land in favour of the Trinammol supported Jotdars. Malay Kyal , Prominent youth leader and and member of the Zilla Parishad has urged the farmers to remain calm in the face of this attack and to organise mass mobilization campaigns so that the landless tillers cal be re-instated of in their lands . Land grabbing incident by Trinamool led jotdaars has been reported from places of East Midnapore districts also.

SUDIPTA BOSE

The former Indian Cricket Skipper Sourav Ganguly expresses displeasure at the turn of events at Singur:

August 25, 2008: The former Indian Cricket Captain and ace Indian batsman, Sourav Ganguly expressed strong displeasure at the recent spate of events concerning the upcoming Tata “Nano’ plant at Singur. The former Indian skipper currently vacationing in London came to know about the recent turn of events at Singur from Newspaper reports. Subsequently he contacted his well-wishers in Kolkata and learned in details about the current turn of events.

He expressed that he is saddened by the recent state of events and the controversy surrounding the upcoming Tata Nano plant at Singur .furthermore he felt that the plant at Singur is a positive happening in favour of a resurgent and industrialized Bengal.He has also appealed to the entire concerned stakeholders to find an amicable solution to the problem as it is necessary to project a favorable image of an investment friendly state in the interest of all the residents of West Bengal. Sourav firmly called for all to maintain peace and tranquility in the state and urged to take the state forward for a rapid industriliasation process.

The recent report appearing in the media stating that there is a possibility that the Tata’s may leave the state due to the current opposition induced violent movement, has concerned him also and expressed that as a resident of the state he feels that if by any chance the house of Tata’s withdraws from the state then that would result in the death knell for the industrialisation effort of the state. In that case no other corporate house will dare to venture in the state. He furthermore lamented that the lack of practical sense by the protesters have resulted in this situation.

Finally he expressed confidence that all the concerned parties will accept the invitation by the Chief Minister of West Bengal to discuss the issue with him and to find an amicable solution to the whole issue.Mentionable here that not only Sourav Ganguly even other prominent sports personalities like former Asiad Gold Medal winning Indian soccer captain Chuni Goswami, Academy award winning author Sunil Gangopadhaya , and world famous magician PC Sorcar (Jr) has all rallied behind the state government in this issue and have strongly expressed their solidarity with the state government’s stand that the upcoming automobile unit at Singur is an absolute necessity in the interest of future industrialisation process for the state of West Bengal . All of them have also appealed to the opposition to abandon their frictional stand with the state government and to find a solution to the impasse at Singur in the larger interest of the state of West Bengal.

SUDIPTA BOSE