Nano vendors want state to come clean too
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11/09/2008
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Business Standard (New Delhi)
Bs Reporter / Kolkata September 11, 2008, 5:03 IST
After Tata Motors issued a warning to the government of West Bengal (GoWB) on September 9 not to act unilaterally or take steps that would disturb its commitment on the integrated nature of the Nano car factory at Singur, 40km from Kolkata, a group of vendors attached to the Nano project reportedly urged the state government to brief them on whether it was taking any decisions or making commitments which could affect them.
In their letter to the state commerce and industries department, the vendors reportedly complained that they were being kept in the dark while being instructed to stop work at the project site under the terms of the agreement hammered out between the government and the Trinamool Congress-led opposition under the guidance of West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi on September 7.
The vendors indicated that they would like the government to come clean and brief them on the actual situation, as they apprehended that the government could be taking decisions or making commitments which could impact their projects or the viability of their investments.
Some vendors almost completed their projects, like the Caparo group which was part of the core operations of the plant as it was making the structural panels for the Nano.
Commenting on an issue that was being handled by state ministers and Mamata Banerjee of TC, West Bengal industry secretary Sabyasachi Sen admitted today that some vendors had expressed dissatisfaction over the decision to stop work at ancillary units for seven days.
A four-member committee would submit its report on the quantum of land within the factory complex that could be returned to farmers in a week.
The committee comprising West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) managing director Subrata Gupta and Hugli District Magistrate Neelam Meena from the government side and Rabindranath Bhattacharya and Becharam Manna from Trinamool Congress, today examined the Singur site and would meet at the WBIDC office at 2pm on September 11 to discuss their findings.
While TC chief Mamata Banerjee had said the team