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Dr V S Acharya inaugurated the TATA Hanuman dealership at Udupi todayMisuse of "model code of conduct"
(TOI)
For Tatas, I could give my land free, says farmer
SANAND(AHMEDABAD): Farmer-turned-industrialist Ravubha Vaghela was a very happy man on Monday after selling his entire 30 acres of land at Khoda and Nanapura villages to Govt of Gujarat.
He only hoped Tatas would bring their prestigious Nano project to the chosen site.
Vaghela had earmarked this land for expansion of his firm, Raviraj Foils Limited. But the minute he was approached by state government officials, he willingly sold the land for building approach road from Sanand-Viramgam highway to Anand Agriculture University cattle farm that will hopefully be Nano’s new home.
Vaghela says he sold the land for Rs 15 crore at Rs 1,000 per square metre , despite the going market rate of Rs 2,500 per sq mt.
Vaghela says he could have haggled for a better price or even gone to court. “But this would have delayed the process and Nano plant could have gone out of Gujarat’s hands. I was glad to make the sacrifice. For Tata project I could have given my land for free. I am a proud Rajput today that I will be instrumental in bringing Nano project to Gujarat,” said Vaghela, who feels it’s time for him to repay a debt to Tatas.
“During the great famine of 1900 Jamshetji Tata rescued the Kankrej cows being bred at the farm by making a donation of Rs 1,000,” he explains, adding that his move symbolises the difference in the outlook of farmers in Gujarat and West Bengal.
What’s more, Vaghela also played a role in convincing other farmers to hand over their land to government. All of them sold their land to government on Monday. Of the nearly 2.05 lakh sq mt private land that Gujarat government has acquired for building the road leading to the site identified for Nano plant, almost two-thirds belong to Vaghela
Deccan Herald:
A top bureaucrat in the secretariat said, “Dharwad is a tier II city. But Sanand is just about 25 km from Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat. Dharwad doesn’t even have a five-star hotel. We learnt that the employees of Tatas preferred an urban Sanand to a tier II city like Dharwad. Also, BJP leader L K Advani represents Gandhinagar, which is close to Ahmedabad. It was a prestigious issue for the BJP leaders to get the project to Gujarat.”Nano: A wild goose chase for State Bangalore, DHNS: What Gujarat has which Karnataka lacked that made the Tatas to accept Modis offer? To this question, varied arguments and replies were given by the officials of Karnataka who were persuading Tatas to shift their Nano project to Dharwad.
Asked whether Karnataka was not willing to give Rs 800 crore which the company reportedly wanted the state to bear as shifting charge, the officer said, “It was mentioned during the negotiations. But that was not an issue. All states extend concessions. But no state will give concessions in the form of hard cash. We too would have given free land or given concession in VAT.”
Embarrassing moment
“All was well with the State’s offer to Tata Motors. But there were issues with power supply...,” said Home Minister Dr V S Acharya.
