State not in the race for Nano project
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25/08/2008
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Hindu (New Delhi)
Kozhikode: Industries Minister Elamaram Karim has said that the State government is not in the race for Tata Motors' Nano project.
"The government is not in favour of snatching a project of another State. Our party [the Communist Party of India-Marxist] is trying to amicably settle the issue,' Mr. Karim told The Hindu here on Sunday.
He said the government did not want unhealthy competition among the States. "However, Tata Motors is wholeheartedly welcome to the State if the company has fresh ideas. If they approach, we are ready to host a new project,' he said.
Several States, significantly Maharashtra, have vied to get the small-car project after Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group of Companies, declared in Kolkata on Friday the group's intention to move out of Singur, the site of the Rs. 1-lakh-car project in West Bengal.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has offered land anywhere in that State. Uttaranchal, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Orissa have made similar gestures.
Mr. Karim accused the Congress of fomenting trouble in States where the party was out of power. It was trying to get projects such as the Nano project in the States it ruled. He made this observation in the light of the State government initiating mega projects and drawing up policies to make the State an industry-friendly destination.