With twists that would make a Bollywood potboiler proud, Tata's Nano project has pulled out of Singur in West Bengal. The Gujarat government has got the deal for the new Nano factory and vendor base.
The new site is situated at Sanand, near Ahmedabad. The sixty vendors for the Nano will also move to Gujarat. The 1000 acres that are required will be provided to Tata from the Anand Agricultural University. Tata is also looking for land to construct a second Nano plant in another state. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, two states that were in contention for the new plant, are in contention for the second plant. The Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has gone on record to state that Sanand isn't like Singur, the land has been sold, it isn't a lease. However, a group of 23 Rajput families are demanding compensation for part of the land in Sanand, which they claim is theirs.
Meanwhile, a group of protesters in Singur comprised mainly of the erstwhile employees of the Singur plant are holding pro-Nano agitations at that location.
Truth, they say, is often stranger than fiction.