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Wednesday, Jan 02, 2008
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Singur project reviewed

Special Correspondent

A Rs.170-crore drainage and sewerage project proposed

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday reviewed the Tata Motors project at Singur with Industry Minister Nirupam Sen and senior bureaucrats, including Chief Secretary, Industry and Irrigation Secretaries and the Managing Director of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. The local CPI(M) Member of Parliament, Rupchand Pal, was also present at the meeting which was held at the State Secretariat.

A Rs. 170-crore drainage and sewerage project is proposed to be implemented within the project area, Mr. Sen told reporters. This was an existing plan which would be funded by the State government and implemented by the State-owned engineering company, Macintosh Burn Ltd.

Floods cause delay

The project area, some 50 km from the city, is low-lying and prone to flooding as it faces some drainage problems. During the construction period this monsoon, severe water logging had created problems for the Tatas and special efforts had to be made to compensate for the resultant delay.

The pace of the work at the project also came up for discussion.

The four-doored small car, which would be showcased at the Auto Show in Delhi next week, was slated to be produced on a commercial basis later this year.

The project was racing towards this target and it would be met, it was felt, Mr. Pal said.

Of the 1,000 acres that had been acquired for the project, some 448 acres would be reserved for the vendors while the remaining would be used for the Tata plant.

“Vested interests”

It may be mentioned that company chairman Ratan Tata had said here in August, after the Tata Tea annual general meeting that although there were efforts to delay the project, the Tatas would use their capabilities to make good those delays.

He had, however, declined to set a date for the rollout then, saying that vested interests were at work.

An official spokesman of the company told The Hindu that work has now intensified to overcome the delays that had crept into the project, especially after the heavy monsoon rains which had caused water-logging at the project site.

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