It is more than a matter of one factory. For Bhattacharya, luring the Tatas to Singur is the linchpin of an effort to show that Bengal is open for business and to mend the trust with investors that has been frayed over time.
He sees it as an economic must and a statement all in one. You can’t let Singur be a footnote about when a company left; you make it a case study in how to bring in the kind of capital and jobs you want.
Why Singur matters now
Ever since the Nano project was called off in 2008 and they tore down what was almost built, Singur has been a byword for risk. Bhattacharya will tell you that put an idea in people’s heads: you won’t find any surety in this state for a big project.
So he is blunt about it: ‘We want the Tatas to come back, and in Singur at that.’ If you put a name like that in the same spot, you can correct the ‘wrong message’ that has made investors look in other directions.
And he is not talking only about cars. The state is open to the conglomerate in any line of work. ‘They are one of the oldest and most trusted in the country,’ he says. Picking a place with the history of Singur is no accident; it is meant to be symbolic.
A policy reset anchored in land reform
You can’t have an industrial renaissance without dealing with the land issue. That is where the new BJP government is heading with a policy it is currently putting together to support a wider push for industry.
Bhattacharya has little patience for the old rule of not acquiring land and making companies do it on their own. ‘It is an absurd and flawed policy to have industries go door to door for it,’ he says. The new way of doing things will fix that.
The fine print isn’t out yet, but he is confident you will see the results in the next few months. The idea is to make the rules clear, cut down on the red tape, and have some solid projects in the pipeline.
*Jobs strategy beyond a single model
When it comes to putting people to work, the government is not going to apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Whether it is a labour or a capital-heavy operation, Bhattacharya says they will be there to support it, so you get opportunities in every corner of the state.
Bengal is the ‘gateway to the East’ for a reason – the ports, the location, the links. But you can only make use of that if you put some certainty back into the system. A bit of balance goes a long way in being credible to an investor or a worker.
Rewriting the investment story
If you put the numbers in context, the urgency makes sense. He looks at the trouble from the 60s and 70s, then 35 years under the Left and 15 with the TMC, and you see how the lack of progress became part of the furniture.
Then there is the FDI. ‘Maharashtra is pulling in 13.6 per cent of India’s, we are at 0.6 per cent. The figures don’t lie,’ he says. Where the money goes is a question of whether you can be trusted with it.
Over the years, the state’s base has been whittled away. Firms have left or shut their doors, some have moved out of Kolkata, others have been liquidated, and you have tens of thousands of small and medium players that are no longer in business. We have to put a stop to that.
Signals since May 4th
There is a change in the mood, he says, since the results came in. He has the story of an industrialist who was set to take a plant out of Bengal but after May 4th had a change of heart and is staying put. He would have you believe that the story is a case in point for what a firm political will and a fresh set of policies can achieve.
There’s no timetable for a Tata verdict, but he makes the case that if you put some hard-won progress on the table in terms of land and put in a good word with top-tier investors, you can alter how firms see Bengal in short order.
From exit symbol to return showcase
When the Nano left, it was more than a car being put out to pasture; it was a national lesson in what not to do. The 2008 walkout had an impact on corporate India and made sure Singur was part of every boardroom’s ‘what if’ stories.
Now, after almost 20 years, the BJP is looking to turn the page. A homecoming for Tata at Singur would be the proof of concept: a spot once known for pulling back now at the vanguard of a new way of doing things.
You can’t get around the politics. The very protests that saw off Tata Motors also put an end to 34 years of the Left Front. So any move to come back to Singur is loaded with as much political subtext as it is economic.
Correcting perception to crowd-in capital
It all comes down to credibility, according to Bhattacharya. He puts it down to a ‘cut-money culture, syndicate raj and institutionalised corruption’ that has made the climate for investment difficult. The onus is on the government to show it can be fair and make the rules stick.
A strong, visible overture, he says, is worth its weight in gold. A yes from Tata would be a sign to capital at home and abroad that Bengal means business when it comes to stability.
And it can’t just be about the big names. You have to be in the room with anchor investors while you’re also tending to the smaller firms, or you don’t have a recovery so much as a few isolated enclaves.
The leadership has put their near-term to-do list in plain view:
– Make a clean, open policy of land access
– Put in front of the kind of investors who set the tone
– Have the SMEs in the mix with the heavyweights
– Put jobs where they are needed in the industry
What the government wants to prove
Bhattacharya is talking in terms of results you can put your finger on. Land without the runaround, rules applied the same way, and projects that hit their marks. He is confident you will see some of that in the state before long.
Singur is the place to make a point of it. The idea is to show that old scores can be settled with the right framework and to have a model for the rest of the districts to follow.
Reading the stakes for West Bengal
The BJP will tell you there is a 50-year hangover of economic decline here. What they are after is not just to put one plant back in commission, but to rebuild the notion that you can put money in this state and see it grow.
It’s a matter of using a few tools in unison: reforming how land is handled, making inroads with investors, and a jobs plan that is in step with the sector. None of it works in a vacuum, they will say.
If you have some policy certainty, then the rest of the state’s geography can do the work. With the ports, the freight corridors and being on the doorstep of eastern markets, Bengal can be competitive again in manufacturing and logistics.
The Tata question and beyond
Is a return from the Tatas a form of penance for the past? Bhattacharya says the exodus did some harm. Getting them back is about mending trust, not just for show.
‘In any form, be it automobile or any other sector,’ he says the Tatas are welcome. It is a way of saying we want to draw in a range of investments, not put our eggs in one basket.
What to watch next
You can tell if the new story is sticking by three things. One, the fine print of the land policy and if it actually eases the way for acquisition. Two, some real talk with the likes of the Tatas.
And three, the kind of jobs that start to pop up from both the labour and capital-heavy side of the ledger. Get those in line and you can put to rest the reputation that has been with us since 2008.
Bhattacharya is not just talking to the room in Bengal. “We want to let the country and the world know that we are open for business,” he says. We’ll see in the next few months if words become works.
