Nano car production stalls over Tata move

Farmers unwilling to give up land for plant that will build Tata's US$2,300 Nano car which was unveiled in January.

MUMBAI // The barricades blocking the highway to the Tata Motors Nano factory in West Bengal have come down, but the road is not yet clear for production of the world's cheapest car. Tata Motors said on Monday it would not immediately restart production of its super-cheap Nano car - which had a planned launch slated for the end of the year - even though farmers who had lost land and local political leaders opposed to the plant ended weeks of violent protests in Singur. The local government on Sunday promised to compensate the farmers with more land. A committee will be set up to decide within a week the details of the compensation package. "Tata Motors is obliged to continue the suspension of construction and commissioning work at the Nano Plant" until final details of the agreement are clarified, the company said on Monday. It insists it cannot keep costs down unless some 60 key suppliers remain integrated with the Nano factory. Some farmers said they did not accept the government's offer of compensation for their land because they could get a better price by selling the land directly to the company. * Associated Press