All's well in West Bengal, say industrialists

Though the ruling Left Front in West Bengal recorded its worst performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls, industrialists appear to be unperturbed by the changing political wind in the state and believe industrialisation will continue.

Sajjan Jindal, vice-chairman and managing director of JSW Steel, said it did not matter which political party was in power. The Rs 35,000-crore (Rs 350 billion) project from the JSW Steel stable is one of Bengal's largest projects. Jindal is going slow on the project and said it would be taken up once the demand revived.

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Videocon group chairman Venugopal Dhoot echoed, "Political situation does not affect us". The Videocon group has announced a total investment package of Rs 18,000 crore (Rs 180 billion) in the state, of which a steel plant accounts for Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion).

Bhushan Steel, in fact, is eyeing a bigger project in the state than the originally conceived two-million-tonne steel plant. It is in talks with Japan's Sumitomo Metal Industries for participation.

Neeraj Singal, managing director of Bhushan Steel, said the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package for the project was ready and the company would announce it jointly with the state government.

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There are around 164 projects in the pipeline involving an investment of Rs 1.93 lakh crore, of which steel projects account for 67 per cent.

Apart from JSW Steel at Salboni in West Medinipur, most of the steel projects were in Bankura and Bardhaman, which have been retained by the Left.

Even as the state government is recuperating from the defeat, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirupam Sen today made it clear that there was no going back on industrialisation and all projects under his jurisdiction were on track.

Though the pace of work in the state after the Left front's dismal show in the elections has slackened to a near-stop, some of the issues from the pre-election stage were being sorted.

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Sen said the R&R policy was being worked out. One of the key features of the policy would be land-for-land.

Also, of the 4,800 acres for the proposed 10-million-tonne JSW Steel plant, 100-odd acres, which was to be acquired, has been done after the elections. Biswadip Gupta, joint managing director and CEO of JSW Bengal Steel, said the entire land for the project was now with the company.

An industrialist said Basudeb Acharya, the CPI(M) MP from Bankura, held a meeting to take stock of pending issues. Another major project, Bengal Aerotropolis, the airport-city project at Andal, around 200 kilometres from Kolkata, was hoping to bag the land for the first phase by July-end. Notification for land acquisition has already been issued.

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Though she was against the project initially, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee during her recent election campaign said that if people were willing to give land for the project, she would not come in the way. However, one project which is surely hanging in balance is the Petroleum, Chemicals, and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) project at Nayachar.

Nayachar is part of the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, which has gone to Trinamool Congress this time. Even though the project has bagged the PCPIR approval from the Centre, Banerjee is opposing it and has asked for a re-look of the SEZ policy at the first meeting of UPA allies. The Trinamool Congress is the largest ally of the Congress-led UPA.

"Mamata Banerjee is not against industrialisation if it involves acquisition of barren land," pointed out an investor.

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