3 states slug it out in race for Nano
The Gujarat government may be claiming that the Nano unit is headed for a site near Ahmedabad but there are indications that the race to host the plant is far from over.
Senior Tata Motors officials said on Saturday that its MD, G Ravikanth, will be in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on Sunday to meet ministers. He will weigh up options for rolling out the Rs 1-lakh car from a site in either of two states.
Ravikanth will be in Dharwad on Sunday to inspect a site for the Nano plant, officials in Karnataka confirmed on Saturday.
This will be followed by a meeting between Karnataka major- and medium-scale industries minister Murugesh R Nirani and Tata Group CEO Ratan Tata during the week. “I am meeting Ratan Tata soon. We are confident the Tatas will select Dharwad for relocating their Nano manufacturing unit,” Nirani said. Ravikanth will also be visiting Andhra Pradesh.
Gujarat officials, however, claimed on Saturday that a site near Sanand in Ahmedabad was the frontrunner in the race. In what could be a personal triumph for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi — and add insult to injury for communist Bengal — senior Gujarat officials said Ratan Tata had agreed to relocate the Nano plant. The site is located 25 kms west of Ahmedabad.
A formal announcement is likely next week, most probably on October 7, when Modi completes seven years in office. At present, the 2,200-acre site serves as a college and cattle-and-seed farm for the Gujarat Agriculture University.
Things are already moving fast within the Gujarat government. The university has been informed about the decision to transfer the land to the Tatas. The necessary paperwork for the transfer has been completed. The revenue department on Saturday issued a notification to acquire 60 acres of land in Chharodi and Iyawa-Vasna villages for building broad approach roads to the site.
While pulling out of Singur on Friday, Ratan Tata had mentioned that locations in “three or four states” were being considered. While Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were in contention, what finally swung the decision in Gujarat’s favour were Modi’s incentives to the Tatas.
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