P.M. 'sad' over Nano episode

New Delhi, Oct 26 (PTI) Expressing "sadness" over the circumstances in which Ratan Tata had to shift his pet Nano car project from West Bengal to Gujarat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has highlighted the need for industrialisation with a human face.

"Well, we are a free democratic country. It is
certainly sad the circumstances in which Ratan Tata had to
move his project," Singh said when asked to comment on the
Nano episode that hogged media headlines for weeks.

"It is sad because a lot of work had been done in
Bengal and there was a date fixed for Nano's appearance in the
market. So that process was delayed so therefore to some
extent it was a sad thing," Singh told reporters Saturday
while returning from his high-profile visit to Japan and
China.

Singh said entrepreneurs were free to decide the
location of their plants in a democracy.

In a market economy, these things happen. "These are
the decisions which cannot be forced down the throat of
unwilling entrepreneurs," he said while commenting on Tata's
decision to shift shift the Nano car factory from Singur in
West Bengal to Sanand near Ahmedabad in Gujarat following the
agitation against land acquisition at Singur led by Trinamool
Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

At the same time, the Prime Minister said India must
industrialise to realise its destiny but it should not come at
the expense of the nation's farmers.

Farmers should be appropriately compensated when
their land is acquired for setting up industries, he said.

"India needs to industrialise, without
industrialisation we cannot find solutions to our employment
or development problems.

"The real issue is what are the terms on which the land
is acquired. It should not be acquired at prices which keep
the farmers dissatisfied," Singh said.

"There should be an increasing attempt to reward the
farmer appropriately," the Prime Minister said, suggesting
that efforts should also be made to give them a stake in the
enterprises which are set up on the land that is acquired.

He noted that the rehabilitation policy, the amendment
to the Land Acquisition Act, was before Parliament.

"I would like that this is not an issue which should
create fiction and division among parties, because India must
industrialise to realise its destiny," he said.

"The only thing is industrialisation cannot be on the
backs of the poor farmers. They should be given remunerative
compensation wherever land is acquired," Singh added. PTI
A.K.J.
RKM