Tata says goodbye to West Bengal

It’s official. At least for now, the Tatas have decided to move the manufacturing of their low-cost car (Nano) out of Singur in West Bengal.  They are actively looking for another location; states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and others are wooing the Tatas.

But what is not clear to me is who, if anyone, finally won?

• Not the Tatas, investors of Tata Motors or other stakeholders- for they collectively stand to lose more than Rs500 crores of investment, not to mention revenue loss caused by possible delays in the launch of the Nano.
• Not the farmers who were against offering the land for industrialization- they have effectively lost 2-3 cropping seasons and given the construction activity in the neighborhood, who knows how good the soil remains to support agriculture?
• Not the farmers who were willing to sell the land, for the entire issue has cast a shadow. Besides, if the compensation was indeed inadequate, they may have under-sold.
• Definitely on the state government. This entire incident only reinforces the perception that the Left is against progress and development (assuming that promotion of industrial activities is in fact, “progress” in the desired direction).
• Not Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress- after all, the constituency they supposedly represented- the farmers- have not won either.

So what could have been a win-win-win situation has been converted into a lose-lose-lose situation, thanks to the intransigence of the political forces involved. Perhaps the only “winner” will be some other Indian state.