Tata Motors says start building new plant

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd. said on Sunday it had begun initial construction of a small car plant in West Bengal, where locals have protested against the planned transfer of agricultural land for the project.
Tata Motors, the country's top bus and truck maker, has faced protests in the state over the government's acquisition of nearly 1,000 acres of privately-owned farmland for the company's car making plant in Singur, 50-km north of state capital Kolkata.
The work has started with the consent of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and is expected to create employment in excess of 10,000 jobs for locals within the region, Tata Motors said in a statement.
"Tata Motors, through its contractors and its sub-contractors will deploy appropriate and necessary people from the Singur area on various unskilled jobs and also skilled assignments, like masons, fitters, as per the project's needs," the company said.
The company said it had also started training locals for employment at its 10-billion-rupee ($226 million) plant.
West Bengal, which has the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government, is wooing foreign and domestic investment after years of focusing on land reforms and empowering poor peasants.

Source: Reuters