Tata Motors has secured a significant ₹766 crore arbitration award from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corp. Ltd (WBIDC), concluding a prolonged dispute stemming from the closure of its Singur plant in 2008. This plant was intended for manufacturing the Nano, the world’s most affordable car.
Background
- Singur Plant Closure: Tata Motors shut down its Singur plant due to protests against land acquisition in 2008, where it planned to produce the Nano model.
Arbitration Award
- Amount: The arbitral tribunal awarded ₹766 crore to Tata Motors.
- Interest: WBIDC is to pay an 11% interest rate on this amount from September 2016 until full recovery.
- Proceedings Cost: Tata Motors is also entitled to recover ₹1 crore towards the cost of the proceedings.
Significance
- Test Case: The Singur dispute is seen as a pivotal case for land acquisition and industrial development in India.
- Political Impact: The conflict led to the fall of the Left Front government in West Bengal, as Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress capitalized on opposition to land acquisition, ending the world’s longest-ruling democratically elected Communist party.
Tata Motors’ Relocation
- Tata Motors initially invested in the Singur project to create the “people’s car” at an affordable ₹1 lakh price tag.
- The company moved its manufacturing unit to Sanand, Gujarat, after abandoning the Singur project in 2008.
- The Sanand facility still operates for other Tata Motors passenger vehicles after the Nano project was discontinued in 2018.
Oxford Bookstores Honours Excellence in ...
2024 Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced
UNESCO Guillermo Cano Prize 2024 Awarded...
