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Virendra Pandit

Ahmedabad, Oct 3 Among the locations to shift the Rs 1,500-crore Nano plant from Singur in West Bengal, Tata Motors is reported to be seriously considering Gujarat where General Motors already has a plant and Maruti will soon have a port terminal at Mundra.

According to reports, Mr Ratan Tata, who said an emotional good-bye to Singur this evening, is likely to meet the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, on October 7 in this regard. Tata Motors officials have already met the State Government representatives in recent weeks. But Ministers and officials have refrained from commenting on the Nano issue.

Gujarat may emerge as a better choice for logistical reasons and a satisfactory industrial and labour environment in the State. The State, like West Bengal, is well-connected by air, sea and land routes. Besides, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) passing two-thirds through Gujarat and the proposed Special Investment Region (SIR) would soon make it even more attractive.

“You are stupid if you are not investing in Gujarat!”, Mr Ratan Tata had said publicly while addressing a mammoth gathering of industrialists and businessmen at the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit’ in January 2007 here, in what is now seen as his likely choice of this State for relocating the Nano plant.

In view of Mr Tata’s remarks in Kolkata today that the company was exploring offers from three to four states and that Tata Motors would eventually have more than one Nano plant, at least one of these plants may be located in Gujarat.

Recently, Sanand, 30 km from Ahmedabad, is reported to have emerged as a likely destination for the Nano plant, where the State Government may offer 1,000 acres of land to the Tatas, out of the 2,200 acres owned by Gujarat Agriculture University (GAU) in the area.

Construction work on these premises was suddenly stopped recently. Among the other likely places, should the Tatas decide upon Gujarat , are Savli in the Panchmahals district (where GM already has a plant, near Vadodara), Mundra (Kutch), Prantij (Himmatnagar), Padra (Vadodara) and Maroli (Navsari).

According to sources, the State Government could also offer 200 acres of land at Savli for the mother Nano project. The authorities had, some time ago, decided to cancel allotment of this land earmarked for a biotech park. Vadodara is centrally located between Delhi and Mumbai and is well-connected by road, rail and air routes.

Another 800 acres of land required for ancillary units could be offered in the adjoining the Panchmahals or Bhavnagar districts. Already, about 30 per cent parts of Nano are being manufactured at Rajkot. Land is also available in Banaskantha, Kutch, Rajkot and Jamnagar districts, as it is owned by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), the nodal agency for industrial matters, and there is no problem in land acquisition.

More Stories on : New Projects | Cars | Tata Motors Ltd | Gujarat

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