Tata Motors Wins Singur Land Case; Entitled To Recover Rs 766 Crore Compensation From West Bengal Govt

The compensation is in respect to Tata Motor's claim of compensation from WBIDC under various heads, including the loss of capital investments with regard to the auto manufacturing facility in Singur

Instead of Singur, Tata Motors inaugurated its new plant in Sanand where the firm started producing Nano in June 2010.

Home-grown auto major Tata Motors on Monday said an arbitral tribunal has asked the West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) to pay Rs 766 crore compensation to the company in connection with losses incurred on its Singur manufacturing facility, as the PTI reported. Amid violent land rows, the Tatas had to shift their auto plant to produce small car Nano from Singur in to Sanand in Gujarat in October 2008. It was reported that the company had already invested Rs 1,000 crore in Singur plant.

Tata Motors in a regulatory filing on Monday said a three-member arbitral tribunal has ruled that the company is entitled to recover from the respondent WBIDC an amount of Rs 765.78 crore with interest, thereon 11 per cent per annum from September 1, 2016, till actual recovery thereof. According to the report, the compensation is in respect to Tata Motor's claim of compensation from WBIDC under various heads, including the loss of capital investments with regard to the automobile manufacturing facility in Singur.

Tata Motors said, "This is to inform that the aforesaid pending arbitral proceedings before a three-member Arbitral Tribunal has now been finally disposed of by a unanimous award dated October 30, 2023, in favour of Tata Motors." The auto company has also been held to be entitled to recover from WBIDC a total of Rs 1 crore towards the cost of the proceedings, it said. "With the making of the final arbitral award as mentioned above, the arbitral proceedings have come to an end," it added.

Instead of Singur, Tata Motors inaugurated its new plant in Sanand where the firm started producing Nano in June 2010. However, the Nano has ceased to sell now. Tata Motors finally discontinued the sales of Nano in 2020. Ratan Tata's dream of making a car costing only Rs 1 lakh had to face many challenges, both technical and political, ever since it was conceived in 2003.

The inauguration of the plant took place nearly two years after the Tatas were forced to shift their unit out of West Bengal. The Sanand plant was inaugurated by then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata.