A day after the state government invited BHEL to set up a power plant at Singur in collaboration with it, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today reiterated her proposal to set up a rail coach factory in Singur. Only, this time, she proposed a joint venture with the state government or a public-private-partnership model to set up the factory at the abandoned Tata Motors’ Nano project site.

“The Railways are ready to set up a railway coach factory in joint venture with the state government. If the state government gives us 1,000 acres (acquired for the Tata’s Nano car project), we will set up the factory,” Banerjee said.

Her proposal came a day after the state government’s initiative to set up a 1,600 MW power plant in partnership with BHEL at the site in Hooghly district.

“Of the 1,000 acres, the coach factory would come up on 600 acres, while the remaining 400 acre will be returned to farmers,” Banerjee, who had agitated for the return of the 400 acres leading to Tata exiting Singur, said.

She said land would be the equity of the state government in the project, but in case it was not interested, the Railways could set up the project on the public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

She said the main coach factory could come up at Singur while the ancillary units could be set up at Dankuni.

She also said that the Tatas, to which the land was under lease, could set up their own project, but on 600 acres.

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