Ahmedabad, Oct 7(IANS) Farmers at Sanand village in Gujarat burst crackers and distributed sweets Tuesday evening, welcoming the Tata Motors’ decision to relocate the Rs.15-billion Nano car project to the state.Alongside, corporate Gujarat also rejoiced.

“It is a matter of great pleasure that Mr Ratan Tata’s prestigious Nano car will roll out from Gujarat,” said Parimal Nathwani, Reliance Industries Ltd president for corporate affairs and Rajya Sabha member.

“It is a decisive stamp on Gujarat’s overall image of a vibrant and investor-friendly state,” he said in an official statement here.

He also said the Tatas and Gujarat were inseparable because of the group’s presence in Mithapur, near Dwarka in Gujarat, for several decades through a Tata Chemicals plant there.

Added Vinai Saxena, director at Dholera Port and SEZ Ltd: “The pullout of the Nano project from Bengal proves that Gujarat is in a state of democratic harmony, industrial peace and development. The Mamata (Banerjee) and Medha (Patkar) factors that irresponsibly affect national development do not affect Gujarat.”

Similarly, Sunil Parekh, advisor to Zydus Cadilla Group, said he was “truly euphoric”.

“The project will add 10,000 additional jobs with Tata himself investing Rs.2,000 crore (Rs.20 billion). It will benefit other vendors too. It will give huge boost to ancillaries industry,” Parekh said.

According to him, the Nano project would put Ahmedabad on the world map. “Foreigners will say, ‘Oh, you come from where Nano is manufactured?’,” Parekh said. “Gujarat’s bureaucracy is well tuned to business development.”

Y.K. Alagh, former central minister and chairman of Institute of Rural Management at Anand, said both north and central Gujarat would progress. “This will bring in technological innovations as Nano is a new technological project,” he said.

Rajkot Engineering Association president Bhavesh Patel also welcomed the development, saying the near 2,000 big and 7,000 small casting and machining industries in Rajkot and Saurashtra would benefit.

“It is a day of rejoicing for trade circles,” added Hitesh Baghdai, president of the Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry.