Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere, VSM (Retd)
475, 7^th Main Road
Tel: 0821-2515187
Vijayanagar 1st Stage
MYSORE-570017
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
10 January 2008
*_OPEN LETTER_*
To
Dr. Manmohan Singh ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] )
Prime Minister of India
New Delhi
Smt. Sonia Gandhi ( [EMAIL PROTECTED]
& [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Chairperson, Indian National Congress
New Delhi
Sri Ratan Tata ( [EMAIL PROTECTED]
& [EMAIL PROTECTED] )
The Tata Motors & Fiat International Ltd
Mumbai
*(BY E-MAIL)*
Sir / Madam,
The much-advertised "release" of Tata Motors so-called one-lakh-car on
10 January 2008 causes me to write regarding my concerns and opinions on
the matter.
*_Point No.1_**.* The House of Tata established by Jamshedji Tata had a
good reputation because it was pro-people of those times. However, the
current House of Tata is being run on strictly corporate lines for
maximizing profit at any cost. *The problem is that the cost of the
project and production of the one-lakh-car at Singur are borne primarily
by those who have lost land and livelihood to accommodate the factory*.
It is well known that alternative industrial land (abandoned by
industry) was offered to Tata Motors but was rejected by them. Instead
Tata Motors demanded good agricultural land at Singur, and the
consequent condemnable violence by state government agencies and party
cadres against protesting villagers (December 2006-January 2007) will
surely go down in the history of India much like our forefathers'
struggle for Independence from British rule. This allotment of land to
Tata Motors at Singur is fundamentally unjust and nobody can reasonably
justify how this action by the Government of West Bengal can be "in the
public interest". The House of Tata had, as I am sure you are aware,
created a similar situation at Kalinga Nagar (Orissa) in January 2006,
in which the Police, acting in their favour, opened fire and slew 12
adivasi people who were protesting the take-over of their land.
Today, the House of Tata is viewed by ordinary people all over India as
a potential enemy (it would make Jamshedji Tata turn in his grave)
because it has sucked the life-blood of ordinary people for corporate
profit. *The point at issue here is whether the actions of the
Government of West Bengal and the corporate actions of the House of Tata
are in the national interest. If so, We the People need to know what
precisely is that "national interest", and whether the displaced people
are part of that nation in whose interest such action has been taken. *
_ _
*_Point No.2_**.* *The land for Tata's automobile factory at Singur has
been acquired by force and against the wishes of the people who own the
land or work on it, and the affected people opposed and resisted the
acquisition because they would lose their livelihood and be forced into
penury or destitution. * May I presume that this statement is beyond
dispute? That being so, and in the light of what is happening in many
other parts of our country, it is not only fair and just that *Tata
Motors should immediately return the land taken by force from its owners
*, but also necessary so that it may serve as an example for the many
other such land take-overs that are going on elsewhere in India. *If
Tata Motors would muster the courage and display the good sense to take
this initiative, it will be a positive move to ease the growing trend
towards militancy in large parts of our country *.
*_Point No.3_.* If there are people of Singur who have
agreed to the take-over of their land, they have to be *fully and fairly
rehabilitated* *and not merely re-located*.
*_Point No.4_.* The Government of West Bengal must
*immediately pay generous compensation* to the families of people who
were killed in the violence, and especially concerning the women and
girls who were raped and/or committed suicide. Any criminal proceedings
in hand should not be reason to delay payment of compensation to those
who have suffered.
*_Point No.5_**.* Tata's undertaking *to produce a car costing under one
lakh rupees needs to be examined*, because that is the premise on which
the land was allotted at Singur. It has been reported ("The Hindu",
January 9, 2008, Chennai Edition, page 19) that the car will not conform
to emission standards and certain safety standards. It is pertinent to
ask whether this omission was made known by Tata Motors to the
Government of West Bengal or the Government of India before land was
allotted at Singur.
The cost of the car ex-factory may possibly be less than one lakh
rupees, but more pertinent is what will be the *post-tax cost
on-the-road to the purchaser *. *Will it still be under one lakh
rupees?* And if the car is to be run on the roads, would not the
purchaser be forced to spend more money to install the mandatory
emission control equipment and safety equipment, thereby *taking the
cost well beyond the much-touted one lakh rupees*? *Does this not bring
into question the integrity of both Tata Motors and the Government of
West Bengal?*
*_Point No.6_.* If, in spite of all that has been said and
done, Tata Motors brings out its one-lakh-car, their target market is
supposed to be the upwardly mobile middle class who possess a 2-wheeler
and can afford to "upgrade" to the Tata car. *The vision of Tata Motors
(and the Government of India's Ministry of Environment) defies
comprehension when any ordinary person can see that*:
(i) the total consumption of fuel (and hence the total output of
polluting exhaust emissions) at any place and overall in the country
will increase since the Tata car (660 cc engine) will replace 2-wheelers
(100 cc engine),
(ii) the roads will get vastly more congested since each Tata car will
occupy more road space than a 2-wheeler, thereby increasing the traffic
jams and air pollution in all cities, and
(iii) the total consumption of petroleum fuel, imported at enormous and
increasing cost (oil approaches a permanent $100 a barrel), increases
with no real-time improvement of the economy, though it may provide some
physical comfort to car owners.
*_Point No.7_.* The production capacity of Tata Motors
should have been used to manufacture buses for India's metros, cities
and towns to upgrade public transport, rather than providing more
personal transport that is relatively much more fuel-inefficient,
traffic-congestive and polluting. The advantages of public transport
over personal transport in the interest of the public (including those
who can afford personal transport) are well known internationally. The
gross overcrowding of city buses and other modes of urban transport are
apparent to any observant person even if s/he uses personal transport.
(It need hardly be pointed out that those who "enjoy" security
categories, and travel after roads have been "sanitized" against
possible terrorist attack and all other traffic is stopped, would not
have noticed this daily real-life situation in India).
In this situation, giving Tata Motors (and, to be fair,
other automobile - especially SUV - manufacturers too) licence *to
produce personal transportation in preference to creating efficient
public transportation in urban and rural areas is a serious failing of
governance*. *It is necessary for Government of India to immediately
modify and implement its Transportation Policy in the public interest *.
This is an open-letter appeal to those in the highest
echelons of government, and the corporates who are wielding increasing
influence on them, to wake up to the reality of Bharat that exists
within urban India but mainly in rural India, and make immediate changes
in their perspective so that the poor people are not made the victims of
"development", but actually benefit from the elected government
regardless of its ideology. It is pertinent to quote here from the UN
Cocoyoc Declaration, 1974, on the meaning of "development" for the
benefit of everyone concerned:
"Our first concern is to _redefine_ the whole purpose of development.
_This should not be to develop things but to develop man _. Human beings
have basic needs: food, shelter, clothing, health, education. Any
process of growth that does not lead to their fulfilment - or, even
worse, disrupts them - is _a travesty of the idea of development_".
[Emphasis added].
*I earnestly request you to take immediate and definitive
action as requested above in Points 1 thru 7 above, in the best interest
of our country. *
Yours faithfully,
(Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd))
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