Tata Motors, whose proposed people's car project in West Bengal has run into land acquisition problems, on Wednesday virtually set an end-of-the-year deadline for taking possession of the site at Singur.
"Ideally, we would have liked possession of the land by now. However, the company is hopeful of getting hold of the 1,000 acre of land by the end of the year," company managing director Ravi Kant told reporters in Kolkata from Pune.
In his first interaction with the media since protests broke out against the project in the state, he said prototypes of the Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000) people's car was running in the company's Pune plant and vendors were being finalised and dyes ordered.
"It is a good-looking car with four doors," Kant said, adding that the roll-out was expected in the middle of 2008.
But he said the plan of action for the project would be put in place only after taking possession of the land.
Asked whether the company would explore other options if the West Bengal government failed to hand over the land within that period, Kant said: "May be."
Defending the company's site selection in the state, he said that Tata Motors could have gone to other states. "We could have gone to Uttaranchal," he said.
"It is the group's desire to participate in the industrialisation process of West Bengal where Tata Motors is willing to play the role of a catalyst," Kant said.
Asked whether the company was willing to talk to Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who was opposing acquisition of farm land at Singur for the project, Kant said, "We are not averse to talking to anyone if given the opportunity."