Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may be working overtime to ensure that the Tatas do not pull out their Nano factory from West Bengal. But after Ratan Tata’s enough-is-enough warning yesterday, several states are lining up with a red carpet in case Mamata Banerjee has her way. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh welcomed him today but Uttarakhand is working hard to be first in that line.

The Tata Motors plant in Pantnagar that makes its Ace mini-truck is spread over 1,100 acres and, for long, the Tatas’ demand for another 200 acres has been hanging fire. Yesterday itself, when Kolkata saw an exasperated Tata, Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri sent “special orders to resolve all outstanding issues with the Tatas within a week,” said P C Sharma, the state’s Principal Secretary, Industries. On the Nano factory, Sharma said: “No official talks have been held but a dialogue is on.”

“The 200 acres that Tatas want is with the G B Pant Agricultural University. Within a week, the Tatas will be able to get that extra land as well and the CM has ordered it be sorted out along with any other problems they may be facing here. We are in dialogue with them and will do all we can to meet their requirements”, said Sharma.

Almost 1,400 km from Singur, this region promises unmatchable taxbreaks, the cheapest electricity in the country, a national highway (NH-87) running right along, an airstrip as a close neighbour. Pantnagar, known earlier for nothing more than its agricultural university, is today home to over 400 industries and Rs 8,000 crore in investment.

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