The Hindu Business Line : Which way, West Bengal?

Regarding the Nano plant in Singur, what the Tata Group Chairman has essentially emphasised is that here is an opportunity for West Bengal to begin its industrial resurrection as it were and that it is entirely up to the people of the State to choose the direction of their future.

Ranabir Ray Choudhury

Ratan Tata’s message to the people of the State regarding the Nano plant in Singur and its future is important because he raises issues that are at the heart of the problem and that underscore the huge opportunity cost staring the State in the face if the plant is relocated elsewhere.

Admittedly, in keeping with the image of the responsible industrial titan that he indisputably is, there is no word about the irresponsibility that pervades all levels of State politics today and also, generally speaking, about the poverty of responsible politics in the State over many decades.

In short, what the Tata Group Chairman has essentially emphasised is that here is an opportunity for West Bengal to begin its industrial resurrection as it were and that it is entirely up to the people of the State to choose the direction of their own future.

Indeed, why, in the first place, did the Tatas decide to choose West Bengal for their small-car plant when there were a number of extremely attractive offers from other parts of the country?

As some political circles have insinuated, was it because of the good ‘land deal’ that the State Government was offering them to set up the plant in West Bengal compared to what they had been offered elsewhere?

The fact that some political parties have repeatedly referred to a ‘secret, improper deal’ between the State Government and the Tatas means that, just to clear the air, this aspect of the transaction needs to be probed at the official level at some point of time.

No ‘secret’ deal

On its part, the State Government has repeatedly said that there is nothing ‘secret’ about the land deal with the company, the lease price for the land being obviously fixed at a level to make it worthwhile for the Tatas to invest in West Bengal than in some other State.

The central point is, on strictly commercial grounds the Tatas had to be persuaded that setting up their car plant in the State would be a better decision than setting it up elsewhere.

So, if a lower land price was offered to them, it was a perfectly normal administrative decision, it being the Government’s business to think about the loss and profit side of the deal, as far as the State exchequer was concerned.

Briefly, if a concessional land-lease price was offered to the Tatas, there was nothing ‘illegal’ or administratively ‘improper’ about it. For argument’s sake, even if the Tatas got the land free, the State Government would still be beyond the pale of suspicion of having broken the law of the land, the political aspect of the issue being a totally different kettle of fish.

Dignified response

What does Ratan Tata have to say about this aspect of his investment? As he put it succinctly, “we leased land which was offered to us, and have no reason to disbelieve that it was acquired legally.”

He does not talk about the price of the leased land, and why should he? In all such cases, even if the deal is with a Government body (which in this case it was, the WBIDC), such information is a part of the commercial input that need not be declared public unless the deal is seen to have transgressed the law. He does talk about acquiring of the land, but then he had no need to because the Tatas have nothing to do with that bit of the operation, the inference being that they should in no way be held responsible for the actions of the Left Front Government on this score.

Quite clearly, what has been happening in the State since early 2008 has, in a way, rubbed off on the Tatas in the wrong way, namely, that they have been held to be equally responsible, along with the State Government, in forcing people to sell their land where landowners have been unwilling to do so, and to have ‘cheated’ those farmers who have parted with their holdings.

But of course this is not fair as the Tatas have done nothing illegal in taking up land offered to them by the Government. It is a measure of the dignified response the Tatas are capable of that Ratan Tata, even at this advanced stage of the Nano plant saga, has said: “It is up to the people of West Bengal and Kolkata to decide whether we are going to be an unwanted resident or a good corporate citizen of this State. If it is the latter we will be very, very happy to be part of this development. If, on the other hand, there is a view that for various political reasons we should not be here or what we are trying to do should be altered, which cannot be, then we should very reluctantly need to move.” He added: “If any segment of the State feels that we are exploiting them — first of all it is totally untrue — then we will exit.”

No political colour to industrialisation

One political leader has said that the Tata ‘threat’ is inconsequential and that the current campaign to get the land meant for the ancillary units returned to their erstwhile owners will continue till the objective is attained.

If Mr Tata stands by his word, this would mean that the plant would move to some other State, which would have disastrous investment-consequences for the future of West Bengal.

This assertion will, of course, be challenged by a class of politicians, but then it would be pointless trying to do so because, as the adage goes, “beggars cannot be choosers.”

Why the State remains in the position of a supplicant today, strictly in the industrial sense when compared to the rest of the country as opposed to rural wealth and wellbeing, is a huge, complex issue, at the heart of which is the political direction of the State.

Indeed, why should the recent CITU all-India strike have brought life in West Bengal to a halt when most other parts of the country were generating income and consumption in the normal way? Someone must have engineered the stoppage, and there must have been a good reason to do so. The point is, does that ‘reason’ assist the State to get out of its current industrial difficulties?

As Ratan Tata said: “We know this State was the centre of heavy engineering in the past. So we decided to locate the small car factory here to showcase the new industrialisation of West Bengal.”

The politicians must realise that this ‘new industrialisation’ has no political colour. It has only one hue, and it is that represented by West Bengal and its people.

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