States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, are actively lobbying with the Tatas, who have announced that an alternative plant location would be decided within the next week or so.

The company is scouting for at least 1,000 acres of land to set up the Nano manufacturing facility. Land issues apart, the company is also attaching premium on the long-term congenial industrial environment of the new location. Both Uttarakhand and Himachal are touting their tax holiday scheme till 2010 as their major USP in their offers to the Tatas.

While the Tata officials have already inspected some places in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana have renewed their offers to the Tatas to shift the Nano project to their state.

"We have approached the Tatas. Punjab is best suited for the Nano project because it offers industrial peace and many other incentives for big investors," says Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Not to be left behind, his Haryana counterpart, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has renewed his efforts to persuade the Tatas, saying he has deputed his officials to talk to the automobile giant's representatives.

"We will provide all the facilities that the Tatas need to shift their car-manufacturing project to Haryana," says Hooda. Haryana already has a Maruti-Suzuki plant in Gurgaon.