Tata’s Nano Car Factory Closed by Disputes Over Plant Site

Protests by disgruntled farmers have forced India’s Tata Motors to stop building a plant that was to have mass-produced its much-publicized Nano car, which, at $2,250, would be the world’s cheapest automobile. Farmers in West Bengal have recently been protesting what they say was the illegal acquisition of their land for the plant. The suspension of construction at the West Bengal factory will force Tata to shift construction of the Nano car to six other sites and will mean that the company will initially produce 10,000 cars a month instead of 40,000. Tata was to have begun production in October. Environmentalists say the inexpensive car will further clog India’s overcrowded roads and worsen the poor air quality of Delhi and other cities.