Land Acquisition for Industrialization in West Bengal: the Tata Nano Case

Industrial development in West Bengal is a central platform of the new Left Front government ushered in by a landslide electoral victory in 2006. Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadev Bhattacharya aggressively pursued a major investment in a new factory by Tata Motors Ltd, a subsidiary of the large Indian conglomerate, the Tata Group. When Rajan Tata, chairman of Tata Group, announced its choice of West Bengal as the site for the company’s newest car production facility, the head of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) Debasish Som became responsible for acquiring the 997 acres needed for the project. This case explores the challenges of acquiring land for industrial development. In particular, it encourages students to examine the political, economic, and logistical complexities of land acquisition when faced with diffuse rural landholding and a predominately agricultural economy.