Singur stalemate can hurt Bengal investment:Kamath

The industrial climate is 'getting difficult' in West Bengal where the government needs to address the Singur issue if the state wants to remain an investment destination, CII President K V Kamath said on Tuesday.

After attending an industry leaders' meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Kamath said before going into any state, an industry undertakes due diligence on the environment in the state.

However, the environment in West Bengal 'is getting difficult,' he said, adding it would 'certainly bring difficulties in the minds of the industry' scouting for new locations.

"This is something that needs to be addressed if the state continues to be magnet for industry," Kamath said.

He said the Singur issue did not figure

in the discussion with Chidambaram because, "our view is that this is something that is best handled at the state level at this point of time".

He hoped the industry group (the Tatas) and the state would work on resolving the issue.

Last week, Ratan Tata had threatened to take the Nano project elsewhere if the protests did not end. Trinamool Congress cadres led by its chief Mamata Banerjee have laid a siege to the Tata Motors factory in Singur demanding return of 400 acres of land to farmers.

"In any location if industry finds that it is not able to execute the project or commission the project, I think it is a matter of concern and I am sure the concerned industrial group and the state government will find a solution which is amicable," Kamath said.