Khanduri offers Tatas to bring Nano to Uttarakhand

New Delhi, Oct 4 (UNI) Within less than 24 hours of their decision to make an exit from Singur, the Tatas were today offered by the Uttarakhand Government to bring their Nano project to the state.

Assuring them of all facilities required, Chief Minister Maj Gen (Retd) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri said his state was most suitable for establishment of industries and if the Tatas started the production of Nano car from Pantnagar, the state government would facilitate them to all possible extent.

''The state government will take necessary steps of the Tata group gives any formal proposal,'' the Uttarakhand Information Department said here quoting from Mr Khanduri's remarks made in Dehra dun.

The Chief Minister said the industrial areas in his state were well connected with road, railway, air and telecommunication, and power was available at a low rate.

The government will mind the availability of resources including land, while fulfilling the requirements for the plant, he said, pointing out that there was already a plant of Tata group in Pantnagar.

The Chief Minister also sought to point out that a concessional industrial package with time limit of 2013 was declared for Uttarakhand and Himachal by the previous NDA government, but the suceeding UPA government reduced it to 2010.

Both Uttarakhand and Himachal are making efforts to enlarge the time limit but the Central government's response is not positive, he said.

Yesterday's decision of the Tatas ended the prolonged speculation on the fate of the Nano project at Singur, which ran into rough weather with the opposition, led by Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, launching a fierce agitation demanding that at least 300 acres of the project land be returned to the farmers who had to part with their plots 'unwillingly'.

Tata Motors, which had invested Rs 150 crore for the project, kept work suspended at Singur since September 2 and announced its plan to relocate the project following the repeated disruption in work, assault and intimidation of its employees by the agitators.

Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has said Tata Motors would take a decision in the next few days on the new location from where the Rs one-lakh car would roll out.

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