India

Bengal car factory may be scrapped

Article published on the 2008-09-03 Latest update 2008-09-03 12:14 TU

The interior of the Tata Motors' plant in Singur
(Photo: Reuters/Tata Motors/Handout)

Massive protests continue outside the Tata Motors site in the Indian state of West Bengal, after the company announced Tuesday that it is seeking other locations to produce the world's cheapest car. Tata officials say that they are leaving their options open but that they "have no option" but to look elsewhere if the huge demonstrations continue.

The Tata statement, released late Tuesday, did not say that the company was ending its attempts to build a factory to produce the Nano, which is planned to be the world's cheapest car.

But attempts to get the factory up and running have stopped, after two years of demonstrations by political activists and farmers who are demanding the return of some of the land set aside for the project.

The company's boss, Ratan Tata, warned last month that he would move the plant "whatever the cost, to protect our people".

Tata has invested 240 million euros in the factory, after agreeing to base the project in West Bengal with the Communist Party Marxist-led state government.