‘Factory on undisputed Singur land’

Throwing the ball back in the West Bengal government’s court, Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee-led railway ministry has agreed to build a coach factory on the land abandoned by the Tatas in Singur, but with a rider.

“The ministry has agreed in-principle to set up a coach factory on a part of the land where a car project was to come up. A letter has been sent to the West Bengal government in this regard,” a top rail ministry official said after a meeting with Banerjee. “The Railways will set up its world-class facility only on the 600 acre of the undisputed land as that much will be enough to set up the factory. We have sought details of the land,” the official said.
The remaining 400 acre was at the heart of the controversy, which forced Tata Motors to shift its Nano plant to Gujarat.

Earlier this week, West Bengal offered 1,000 acre in Singur, where the Nano factory was to come up, to the rail ministry for the coach factory. However, giving shape to the project may also be a tedious process, as it was not announced in the railway budget. Large scale projects costing more than Rs150 crore, which are not mentioned in the Budget need to get approval from an extended board, which includes the Railway Board chairman and officials of the Planning Commission, finance ministry and ministry of programme implementation.

Once appraised by the extended board, the railway minister scrutinises it and refers it to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. It is only after the CCEA approval, that the project is included in the following railway budget. Projects costing up to Rs150 crore can be approved by the railway minister in consultation with the concerned rail board member and financial commissioner.