The investment climate in West Bengal took a further hit on Thursday with yet another multinational company threatening to withdraw from state close on heels of Tata pullout. German wholesale chain Metro Cash and Carry, which is set to invest $ 120 million, threatened to withdraw from the state if their operation license was not renewed by the state agricultural marketing board.
Managing Director (India), Metro Cash and Carry, Martin Dlouhy, said, “We have agreed to honour this request. In the event the license is not re-issued, we would be forced to rethink all possible options." State Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has sought time till Saturday to sort out the matter. The German firm announced its plans on the day Bhattacharjee told his cabinet colleagues that the Tatas will pull out of Singur if the impasse over small car project lingers on. Several trucks carrying plant machinery have already been seen rolling out of the Singur plant.
While the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) government struggled to make its point, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee appeared unperturbed and observed Singur Day in Kolkata and Singur. In less than a week, the authorities of this wholesale establishment would decide whether they would follow Tatas suit, and if that happens, the carefully nurtured image Brand Bengal would receive its second consecutive beating in a very short interval.
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