By IANS,
Kolkata : A day after state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) officials visited the abandoned Tata Motors land in West Bengal’s Singur, Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her eagerness Friday to build a coach factory on the plot.
“I feel a national project should come up on that piece of land. If necessary, we can go for joint venture with the state government also. We will set up world’s biggest coach factory over there,” Banerjee told a private television channel ‘Star Ananda’ from Delhi.
Singur, 40 km from here, turned into a battleground since May 2006 after the state’s Left Front government announced global auto major Tata Motors would roll out Nano, the world’s least expensive car, priced at Rs.100,000 from there.
Opposition Trinamool-led protesters demanded return of 400 acres – of the 997.11 acres acquired – to farmers. Finally, Tata Motors in October 2008 moved the small car plant to Sanand in Gujarat.
“If they (state government) give us the land, we can proceed. We can build the ancilliary industry in Dankuni and I can join the two places by a dedicated rail line,” she said.
Banerjee said she spoke to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee three to four months back about the coach factory. “He told me to go ahead.”
The Singur land in Hooghly district is still in possession of Tata Motors. Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata had earlier said if the state government pays compensation, the company is ready to return the land.
Talking about the Singur farmers, Banerjee said: “The farmers are in a bad condition, they don’t get two square meals but they have not bent down before anyone. We have to respect that.”