West Bengal to Gujarat: effect of the displacement on farmers due to the TATA Nano factory

Abstract

The Tata Nano project in Sanand is a live case-study on the implementation of the “Gujarat Model” of economic development. The Gujarat government, under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, wanted to spur growth by incentivizing Tata Motors to set-up their manufacturing facility in the state. The government acquired the requisite land in Sanand from the local farmers at an attractive price; fasttracked the approval process; and developed all the necessary infrastructure for the industry to flourish with an aim to generate employment and provide a boost to local commercial activities. However, the Sanand-II estate has so far failed to attract significant industrial or commercial activity or provide meaningful employment to the local people of Sanand – partly due to unavailability of skilled labour in the vicinity and partly due to Tata Motors’ own reluctance to deal with workers having local support. The few locals that are employed by Tata are mostly hired on a 30-day contract that is renewable. In this way, the contractual workers get employment for a period of 3-4 years during which, they earn a wage rate of INR 10,000-12,000 per month. Post this period, their contract is not renewed and most of them are never given permanent jobs either. The workers who do get permanent jobs as well as the white collars are all from outside of Gujarat.