Tatas ready to return Singur land if compensated

Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata today said the group was ready to return the land at Singur in West Bengal if the state government compensated it for investments made there.

"We do not want to sit on the land. We will return it if the state government compensates us for the investments made there," Tata told reporters on the sidelines of Tata Tea's AGM here.     

Tata Motors had been given around 997 acres of land at Singur by the state government on lease for setting up its 'Nano' car production plant, now shifted to Sanand in Gujarat.     

The company had to abandon the project last October after Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, organised a prolonged agitation demanding return of 400 acres of the allotted land to farmers. The party alleged that the land was forcibly acquired.     

The company had earlier announced that it had made an investment of around Rs 1,500 crore. Tata said that Tata Motors did not have any plan for Singur at the moment.     

"We are ready to cooperate with the state government if it had any plans with the land", he said.     

Asked whether the state government had given any fresh proposal regarding the land, he said that there were no proposals from either side.

Asked whether he was willing to meet Banerjee, now Railway Minister, in view of her recent statement that the ministry was keen on railway projects on the land, Tata said, "It is not her land".     

Tata had squarely blamed Trinamool Congress for his decision to pull out of Singur.     

He, however, said, "West Bengal remains close to our hearts. Whatever happened has happened. One incident is not major in the life of a corporation."     

He then hastened to add, "I am talking on behalf of the Tata group."     

Regarding the cancer hospital coming up at New Town near Rajarhat, Tata said it was expected to be opened by March 2010. "This is one indication about our contribution to this part of the country."     

He said the hospital would have 50 per cent free beds and 50 per cent paid beds and would have a state-of-the-art cancer research centre. "It will make West Bengal proud".     

When a shareholder asked if the Tata group was making contribution to the communists, he said that the group makes contributions from its electoral trust to all the political parties depending upon the seats won by them on the basis of a specific formula.     

"We do not make any discrimination," Tata said.