Singur a great disappointment, but Tatas may still go to Bengal

Singur was a 'great disappointment' but Tata group may still go to West Bengal, outgoing chairman of the group Ratan Tata said on Sunday.

"Need not be Tata Motors. We have until the court decides this, the plant is still there. Whether it is Tata Motors or something else," Tata, who will step down as chairman of Tata group on December 28, said.

Tata said he had a great affinity with eastern India, which has not taken part in the growth and prosperity of the rest of the country.

'If there is something that I could do to be involved with in eastern India, I would welcome that. I lived in Jamshedpur for six years, very close to Kolkata and I used to be in Kolkata off and on... to see something happen there would be quite a thrill for me," he said.

Recalling the "people's car" project, he said the Nano is being 'refreshed' to realise its full potential.

"We were not prepared to market the car as we should have. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that momentum got lost," he said, harking back to the Singur problem. "It is being addressed now and I think we will succeed."

The Nano was originally planned to roll out from a plant in Singur, West Bengal, but the plant had to be shifted to Sanand in Gujarat after political protests. The first Nano rolled out from a factory in Pantnagar in Uttarakhand in 2009. Output from Sanand began in June 2010.