OK, TATA...Give Left Of Way

Moreover, despite similar production lines for the Ace and Nano, a delay cannot be ruled out, affecting Tata’s October launch deadline. According to sources, the Singur plant is over 80 per cent complete. Clearly, packing up would hurt the company financially, putting pressure on the Nano’s Rs 1 lakh tag.

The impact on the 55 vendors, who have been allotted land within the Singur premises, would also be severe. Most of them, say sources, are readying their production lines to meet the deadline. Says D.K. Jain, CMD, Lumax, one of Nano’s key vendors: "Our plant is at an advanced stage and slated for trials next month. If the project is moved, our investments in land and buildings would be wasted." Jain has already invested Rs 30 crore of a total outlay of Rs 45 crore.

Obviously, vendors attached with the company for its other vehicles cannot ditch Tata. Says Dr Surinder Kapur, chairman, Sona Koyo Steerings: "I have invested in land and in a building in Singur but we’ll go with Mr Tata wherever he goes. It will be sad if the people of Singur do not let him operate peacefully because the Nano could develop Singur into a global city with investments coming in. Look at what Maruti has done to Gurgaon in Haryana."

That view is echoed by big industry too. "If the Tatas go away, it will be a tremendous setback for the morale of not just domestic but even foreign investors," warns Amit Mitra, secretary general, FICCI. That’s a market reality the CPI(M) government will not be able to ignore.