Mamata Banerjee has the opportunity to redeem what many believe is a historic blunder: driving the Tata Motors Nano project away from West Bengal. Though the anti-Tata demonstration paved the way for Trinamool Congress' equally historic and emphatic victory over the Left in the 2011 assembly elections, a business chamber has written to Mamata, urging her to invite Rajiv Bajaj to set up the quadricycle plant in the state.
The move follows the ministry of road and highways' green signal to the 200-cc vehicle with hard body, four doors and four wheels that Bajaj Auto had showcased in January 2012 at the Auto Expo in Delhi.
"This is the next-gen auto which is no doubt going to replace the three-wheelers in India in course of time. Quadricycles are bound to emerge as the future vehicle for urban people. We feel that if Bajaj Auto, the pioneer manufacturer of this new vehicle, is invited to set up a large-scale quadricycle factory in West Bengal, huge employment opportunities will open up and hundreds of ancillary units will emerge to provide the required parts and components," chamber president Deepak Jalan stated on Friday.
If Nano was the most inexpensive car to roll off an auto plant, the quadricycle cannot aim for the cheapest tag in motorised public transport as its older cousin; the three wheeler Bajaj autorickshaw already owns it.
Though the auto industry fraternity is not as excited about the quadricycle as it was about Nano, many believe the former has the potential to revolutionize Indian roads. "It will make commuting so much safer than it has been travelling in the door-less auto," an auto expert said.
Incidentally, a similar concern had led Ratan Tata to ask the Tata Motors team to design the Nano, an affordable Nano car that would allow Indian families to travel safe. The conscience call had come after he saw a couple with two children perched precariously on a scooter. Ironically, that scooter could have been a Bajaj.
Though the outspoken Rahul Bajaj had publicly thrown his weight behind Tata after the Nano exit, terming it a bad chapter that needed to be forgotten after having taken lessons, his son may not mind mending the fence with Mamata. After all, he has had differences with his father over exiting the scooter business.
"We request you to consider sending an urgent proposal to Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj to set up a factory in West Bengal for manufacturing RE-60 quadricycles as soon as possible. The factory may come up on a PPP model or as a private entity and necessary land and other infrastructure facilities may be offered for fast-track implementation. We believe that assurance of quick statutory clearances will elicit a positive response from Bajaj Auto," Jalan stated in the letter.
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