The Nano swan song

By O J George

Now the deed is done, and the political blame goes on. The Tatas have had enough of it and decided to pull out from Singur in West Bengal where the Nano car project would have sprung up. Who was behind the vitriolic stir to unseat Ratan Tata from his pet project, which was supposed to have been a feather in the cap of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee?

Sitting far away and only reading reports about the Singur stir, perhaps my comment may not be all-embracing. Still, one cannot comprehend the alacrity with which interested parties forced out the Tatas. An industry always brings in resources and benefits to the local people as well as the country.

No doubt there were problems with resettlement of the farmers or other landholders in the area acquired for the project. Wherever resettlement is needed, the terms of rehabilitation militate against practicality and the victims feel despondent. When the state powers pounce on them, the situation would turn vengeful. Actually a resettlement commission, with statutory powers, should be made available wherever acquisition of land is inevitable. The rehabilitation package should be negotiated. The government policy of giving compensation at the rate of the latest land deal in the adjacent plots should not be the sole criterion. The resettlement commission should be able to build houses for those who lose it. Genuine grievances should be addressed before forcing the native people out of the spots where an industry should come up.

Now industrialists would think twice before embarking upon projects at places where politicians play vulnerable games. Without the manufacturing sector kept at its producing best, no State can flourish.