Addressing the media, Sen said the Tatas did not want to run the plant under police protection.

The chief minister himself had requested Ratan Tata during the meeting not to pull out of Singur. The government did not anticipate this kind of outcome, Sen remarked.

The state government did not support the decision of Ratan Tata. In other states too, people have held protests outside factories but that did not lead to their closure. But he also justified the decision of the Tata Motors. “The company has a commitment to its shareholders and bankers as well as a deadline for the rollout of the car,” he said, “so they did not want to continue with the Singur project.”

Sen admitted that the decision of the Tata Motors would have a negative impact on the overall image of the state and affect future investment. Now, it was the task of the state to revive its image.

But he assured that the withdrawal of Nano would have not effect on the other projects already in the pipeline. Tata has assured the government about the implementation of its other projects, which are under construction. He also appreciated the role of the state government and its support and cooperation, Sen said.

The Trinamool Congress and Opposition parties took a stand to disrupt the development of the state — be it industry, road projects or anything else, he said.

In reply to a query, he ruled out the possibility of returning the land to the farmers. Some other industry would be set up at Singur as the 997 acres had been acquired for industrial purposes, he indicated.

Industry talk
It is indeed regretful that the Tatas have had to pull out of Singur.

The CII feels that the Tatas have been very patient. The political consensus should have happened and such an iconic project should have come up in the state of West Bengal
Chandrajeet Banerjee
Director General, CII

It is bad news for Bengal. It will discourage investment in the state and to create an atmosphere of investment will take some time
P K Agarwal
President, Bharat Chamber of Commerce

New investors will defer their plans of investing in our state for the time being and this is a bad Puja gift
Sanjay Budhia,
President, Indian Chamber of Commerce

The Tata project could have brought about a major change in the industrial scenario of Bengal
A statement released by FICCI