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Tata suspends work at Singur plant, mulls alternate sites

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Agencies

Posted: Sep 02, 2008 at 2105 hrs IST

Mumbai, September 2: Tata Motors on Tuesday said it was looking for alternate options to manufacture its small car Nano from the company's other plants and work at Singur has been suspended.

"In view of the current situation, the company is evaluating alternate options for manufacturing the Nano car at other company facilities," the company said it a statement.

A detailed plan to relocate the plant and machinery to an alternate site is under preparation, it added.

"Tata Motors has been constrained to suspend the construction and commissioning work at the Nano plant in Singur in view of continued confrontation and agitation at the site," it said.

The decision has been taken in order to ensure the safety of its employees and contract labour who have continued to violently obstructed from reporting to work, it added.

The project's auto ancillary partners were also constrained to suspend the work in line with Tata Motors' decision, it said.

"Tata Motors has been constrained to suspend the construction and commissioning work at the Nano plant in Singur in view of continued confrontation and agitation at the site," the company said.

A total investment of Rs 1,500 crore has been envisaged for the project that stipulated rolling out Rs 1 lakh car by October. It, however, has been mired into controversy right from its inception with Mamata Banerjee demanding return of 400 acres out of a total 1000 acres land leased out to Tatas by the state government.

Ratan Tata had last month warned that the project would be shifted out of the state in case violence persisted at the Singur plant.

The decision to look for alternate options was taken at a management committee comprising company Managing Director Ravi Kant, CFO C Ramakrishnan and Nano project head Girish Wagh, besides group Chairman Ratan Tata, sources added.

The company said the decision has been taken to ensure the safety of its employees and contract labour who have continued to violently obstructed from reporting to work.

The project's auto ancillary partners were also constrained to suspend the work in line with Tata Motors' decision, it added.

The plant was shut for the fifth day on Tuesday as the management did not consider the atmosphere conducive for normal work with the Trinamool Congress dharna entering its 10th consecutive day.

"Our workers will not be reporting for work today," a Tata Motors official said earlier in the day.

The company's threat to withdraw from Singur comes at a time even when hectic parleys were to end the impasse with state Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi suggesting to find a neutral mediator.

Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee rushed twice from the dharna site at Singur to Kolkata to discuss the issue with the Governor, while Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also had talks with Gandhi.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee yesterday had agreed to talk with the state government with a mediator.

Banerjee, however, underlined that the talks should be on the issue of return of 400 acre to 'unwilling' farmers at Singur.

She also said that work should resume at the Tata Motors Re 1-lakh car plant.

In the meantime, movement of vehicles on the Durgapur Express highway reduced on Tuesday morning as more people were thronging the dharna site.

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