“It’s the automobile hub near Rudrapur and Tata Nano is quite likely to come here simply because they already have a huge establishment here and will get the benefits of the Central Industrial Package (CIP) available only for Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh,” says Sharma.

Owing to the CIP, the state, officials said, has an industry investment over Rs 50,000 crore at present with industrial estates like the one in Pantnagar spreading out in nearby Sitarganj, Kashipur and Haridwar.

Chief Minister Khanduri prefers to watch and wait as the Singur controversy plays out. “Tatas already have a plant here and we are already offering big concessions. We will see when they talk to us on Nano what can be done”, he told The Sunday Express.

According to Kunal Sharma, MD of the State Infrastructure & Industrial Development Corporation of Uttaranchal (SIDCUL) which coordinates all industry activities for the state, the Tatas were given land at Rs 150 per square feet against the market rate of Rs 2,500 per square feet to help establish their 1100 acre plant which currently churns out some 2,25,000 Ace trucks per annum.

Added to this is power supply at some Rs 2.50 per unit, the lowest in the country, say officials. Then there is the promise of 100 per cent excise holiday for all companies that start production before March 2010 and an income tax holiday for five years. That coupled with peace is what the Uttarakhand government is banking on to woo Tata.

... contd.