In what could be seen a sign of the changing times, Tata Motors today sent a representative to attend Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s foundation laying ceremony for an auto hub at Shalimar.

G S Mekon, AGM, Tata Motors, was among those present as representatives of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The presence of SIAM members, which included representatives from companies like Hyundai, Maruti and Tata Motors, is being seen as an indication of Banerjee’s desire to project herself as a pro-industrialisation person.

“The auto hubs will not only bring revenue to the railways, but it will also benefit the local people,” she said.

Banerjee said the railways has huge catchments of land, around 1.12 lakh acres, of which nearly 21,000 acres have been earmarked for the dedicated freight corridor.

“We have such a huge reserve of land that has no encroachments. We would like to develop these commercially. We want to create new opportunities through private investments without disturbing the government. This will also help us build infrastructure. Besides, we need to increase private participation to create more job opportunities,” she said.

Apart from Shalimar, there are plans to set up nine more such auto hubs all over the country. “We will provide the land to develop these through the PPP model,” she said.

At present only two per cent of the transportation of the vehicles takes place through railways, but it is hoping to reach a target of 15 per cent once the auto hubs are established, Banerjee said, adding they would like to increase the target to 50 per cent in the next four years.

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