Mamata Banerjee sets sights on HM

The Mamata Banerjee-led government has now turned its sights to the other car manufacturer present in West Bengal: Hindustan Motors. The government is likely to issue a showcause notice to the CK Birla group-owned company for allegedly understating the sale of 315 acres of excess land at its factory site in 2007. 

HM informed the state that the value of the transaction was a projected Rs 85 crore, while allegedly the land was sold to developers Shriram Properties for Rs 285 crore. The developer had planned to build an integrated IT township on the land, and HM was to use the revenue received to revive the plant and pay the workers the backlog of salary, which now is two months' worth. The state government also alleges that HM hasn't utilised the funds the way it said it would, but the township that Shriram Properties was hoping to build has not yet seen the light of day due to the lack of permissions from the government.

we hope that the irony of a politican hauling up the manufacturer of the very car that they have been riding around in for as long back as we can remember is not lost on the Bengal state government.