West Bengal - Economy and Project Developments

[NiladriG]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/112072...p#.UBANw7Qe4k8

The government is likely to sign the land-lease agreement with JSW Bengal Steel for the Rs 35,000-crore steel and power plant at Salboni in the second week of August.

“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has seen the matter and cleared it. I am going to Salboni around August 8-9 for the event,” industries minister Partha Chatterjee said at the annual general meeting of the Indian Chamber of Commerce today.

Apart from an agreement for a 189-acre land parcel the WBIDC will lease out to the company, the state and the Jindals will also sign a supplementary development agreement detailing the compensation package, timeframe for the project and default clauses.

It is unclear whether Mamata will attend the event.

[Rajarshi77]

What event. To celebrate lease signing! When will be the goddamn project starting?

[AbhishekDatta]

ITC to invest Rs 500 cr in food, logistics hub in West Bengal
Press Trust of India

Kolkata: Diversified conglomerate ITC Limited would invest around Rs 500 crore for setting up an integrated food and logistics hub at Uluberia in Howrah district in West Bengal.
ITC chairman YC Deveshwar said that the hub would come up on 57 acres of land in the area, for which the company was in the process of getting the land.
The food and logistics hub would not only serve West Bengal but the neighbouring states as well, he told reporters after the company's AGM on Friday.

"There were some legal issues involved in getting the land. The company had been waiting for four to five years. It is good that the government has supported in getting the issues resolved.
ITC was also expanding the Kolkata hotel ITC Sonar.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/itc-to-in.../275436-7.html

another source:

ITC trying to 'fast forward' Rs.25,000 crore investment plan


The diversified conglomerate is hopeful of getting possession of a 39-acre of land in West Bengal soon for setting up food factories. It could not get its possession because of legal tangles. It has already got a land of 18 acres.
"The government has allotted us 18 acres of land in Bengal. We are hopeful of getting another piece of land of 39 acres. These two together will constitute an integrated food factory and integrated logistic hub. Total investment will be Rs.500 crore," Deveshwar said.

from TOI

ITC plans to invest Rs 1K cr in Bengal

KOLKATA: ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar has hailed the state government for helping the conglomerate to resolve a dispute over 40 acre near Uluberia, which was allotted to the company in 2008. The company is planning to invest over Rs 1,000 crore for setting up five manufacturing facilities in the state. The former Left government had offered 39 acres to the company in 2008 for setting up food processing unit but the land was litigated.

The ITC chairman told reporters that it is preparing to start work on the 18 acre in Uluberia food park. "Another 39 acre, we have asked for integrated food facility and logistics park. We have got the plot at Panchla near Uluberia. There was some dispute about the land. Now it has been almost resolved. The state government is cooperating with us," he added.

ITC has sought 40 acres additional land from the state government for its proposed Rs 500 crore food processing project in Bengal. It may be noted that WBIDC had handed over 18 acres for the project to ITC last year.

Earlier, Deveshwar said, "We have asked for 40 acres more because the existing plot is too small for a big plant," he added. ITC executive director K Grant later said that it is looking at more production units for food business in Bengal. "We have seen few locations including one near Bolepur," he said.

According to him, majority of the projects for the proposed Rs 25,000 crore investment of ITC would be in FMCG. "At the current moment, over 40 projects large and small are in various stages of implementation across the country and the majority of this is in FMCG," he added.

[AbhishekDatta]

Road map ready for Sagar port

New Delhi, July 27: The Union shipping ministry is set to sign a state support agreement with the Bengal government for the Sagar port on August 1, and the cabinet may vet the project by September 30.

A PMO statement said work had already begun on the two new ports in Andhra Pradesh and Bengal.

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) would be formed to implement both the projects, with the Centre holding 74 per cent equity and the respective state governments holding 26 per cent. The SPV will then bid out the project on a private-public-partnership basis.

The Sagar port is one of the various infrastructure projects for which the PMO released a road map today.

In July, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had identified shipping, civil aviation and railways for infrastructure push.

The government said the ministry of shipping would form a steering group to oversee the progress of the ports, including finalising the structure of the SPV, monitoring the bidding process, preparation of documents and award of concessions. The move is aimed at a time bound implementation of the project.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/112072...p#.UBML_2FfHSg

[NiladriG]

Originally Posted by AbhishekDatta

Road map ready for Sagar port




http://www.telegraphindia.com/112072...p#.UBML_2FfHSg

That's really good news, I hope it gets implemented within a the time frame . In the meantime rail and road infra needs to be in place. With PMO pushing for this project, I hope state Govt. also does it's bit and doesn't drag things.

[NiladriG]

Originally Posted by Rajarshi77

When will be the goddamn project starting?

Bhogoban jaane.

[samrat_m]

Originally Posted by AbhishekDatta

ITC to invest Rs 500 cr in food, logistics hub in West Bengal
Press Trust of India


http://ibnlive.in.com/news/itc-to-in.../275436-7.html

another source:




from TOI

As expected, ITC's priority & commitments for Bengal is well known. Great going.

[Rajarshi77]

Three cheers for ITC

[debayanlahiri]

Source: http://epratidin.in/Details.aspx?id=9168&boxid=1456200

[AbhishekDatta]

Govt nod to coal-linkage to Railway power plant
Avishek G Dastidar : New Delhi, Sun Jul 29 2012, 01:38 hrs

After keeping the matter hanging for almost a year, the Centre has finally given the green signal for coal-linkage to the Railways biggest power project, the 1320 MW thermal power plant in West Bengal — a pet project of Trianmool Congress chief and bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Union Coal Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal and Railway Minister Mukul Roy had a meeting earlier this week and finalised the long-pending commitment, without which, the ambitious project had been left stuck for a year.

“We will send a letter of commitment to the Railways in a week and the supply will start as and when they require,” Jaiswal told The Indian Express.

Roy has sought around 6.8 million tonnes per annum of coal on an urgent basis. As per the project documents, the plant requires around 92 tonnes of coal per hour for continuous generation in two units of 660 megawatts each.

Focused on completing projects promised by Mamata as Railway Minister, Roy had also written to Jaiswal in May but the it did not yield anything back then.

The approval to the coal linkage now, finally, is being viewed in the context of renewed friendship between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress after the Presidential poll in which Trinamool Congress supported UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee.

The plant, situated in Adra, West Bengal, is being built in a joint venture with the state-owned power major NTPC.

Once complete, the plant is expected to help Railways take a quantum leap in self-reliance in terms of its power needs to run trains.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/go...-plant/980873/

[NiladriG]

Originally Posted by AbhishekDatta

Govt nod to coal-linkage to Railway power plant
Avishek G Dastidar : New Delhi, Sun Jul 29 2012, 01:38 hrs

Very good news.

[Rajarshi77]

With an eye on the coming panchayat elections, the state government is taking the road to development, quite literally. The state public works department is now looking at construction of nearly 1,800 km of rural roads in 11 backward districts. It has, in fact, decided to spend a whopping Rs 1473.94, under the centrally-sponsored Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), to build only rural roads and bridges. Under the project, 141 big and small roads and seven bridges will be constructed.

The 11 districts that have been identified under the BRGF are Bankura, Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Malda, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Murshidabad, Purulia, South 24-Parganas and Uttar Dinajpur.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/15323933.cms

[NiladriG]

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...ojects/983755/

At a time the West Bengal government is at loggerhead with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for maintenance of national highways in the state, virtually all major projects of NHAI are on hold due to land acquisition problems.
NHAI reports accessed by The Indian Express reveal that the land acquisition process for a meagre 13.32 per cent of the total land required by the authority in Bengal is complete. But NHAI is yet to have any of the land in its possession, even though it has completed the distribution of compensation for 236.183 hectares.

The land required for five major NHAI projects including NH 34, NH 31, NH 31D, NH 6 and NH 2 is 1,771.642 hectares in 12 districts — North Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24-Parganas, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Cooch Behar, Howrah, East Midnapore, West Midnapore and Burdwan. According to the reports, the state government issued notification in 2010-11 for 1,191.099 hectares.

The projects, however, are on hold for a year.

The NHAI — which fixes the compensation packages for land owners after discussion with the local administration and according to the current price of the land — disbursed the compensation to the land owners in these 12 districts for 236.183 hectares. However, the national agency is yet to get any land in its possession for implementing the projects.

“We have paid compensation for 236.183 hectares, but we are yet to get any land in our possession. The state government has issued notification for 1,191.099 hectares but we are yet to receive estimates for the compensation amount,” said a senior official of NHAI.

[D Jyoti]

List of top 50 cities in India as per the latest India Cities Competitiveness Index 2012. Kolkata and Asansol are the two West Bengal Cities to in this list. In the last ten years, Kolkata has jumped from 8 to 5 whereas, Asansol has jumped from 55 to 41.

THIS IS AMAZING......... WEST BENGAL DEVELOPING!! Hope, Durgapur and Siliguri too to come in this list very soon.........

[NiladriG]

Originally Posted by D Jyoti

List of top 50 cities in India as per the latest India Cities Competitiveness Index 2012. Kolkata and Asansol are the two West Bengal Cities to in this list. In the last ten years, Kolkata has jumped from 8 to 5 whereas, Asansol has jumped from 55 to 41.

THIS IS AMAZING......... WEST BENGAL DEVELOPING!! Hope, Durgapur and Siliguri too to come in this list very soon.........

Can you give the link? Kolkata should be aiming to be in top 3.

[Rajarshi77]

Do a google for India Cities Competitiveness Index 2012. You will get it.

[kolkatarocks]

Check this out (interview with SUBRATA PAUL on BAPL)

http://www.bengalaero.com/data/swf/n...ty_magnets.pdf

[NiladriG]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/112081...p#.UCaGC53ib0w

The north Bengal development department has decided to repair and broaden parts of a road running parallel to NH31D, given the highway’s pitiable condition, so that commuters between Siliguri and Jalpaiguri have an alternative route available.

“The NH31D, one of the key national highways in north Bengal, is in a pathetic state. Even the chief minister has reprimanded the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for it. Nothing much has been done so far by the NHAI and we have no clue when the four-laning of the road — as part of the East West Corridor project connecting Gujarat with Assam — will start,” said Khageswar Roy, the Trinamul MLA of Rajganj in Jalpaiguri.

The state government cannot do much about NH31D as it is in the NHAI’s ambit of maintenance. But it’s potholes and undulations have become a cause of daily hardship for people in two of north Bengal’s key towns who have to take the road every day.

“We cannot afford to sit idle and watch people facing inconveniences for the bad road and then criticise us,” Roy said.

The alternative road starts near Salugara off NH31 and skirts Siliguri.

The road runs through Ambari and Belacoba and merges with NH31D at Gosala More on Jalpaiguri’s outskirts.

“Considering the distance and slow movement of traffic, it would take at least 20 minutes less. One can reach Siliguri from Jalpaiguri and vice versa in about 40 minutes,” Gautam Deb, the north Bengal development minister, said today.

As of now, small vehicles, and sometimes buses, ply this route. It is narrow in some stretches and needs repair in some other parts.

“We need to widen the entire stretch and develop a full-fledged state highway to facilitate smooth movement of traffic,” Deb said.

The minister said Rs 15.5 crore would be spent to repair and widen the 11km eastern Bypass — from Salugara to Sahudangi railway crossing — which is a part of the alternative route.

On this stretch, lights would be installed on both sides.

“We intend to build an underpass at the Sahudangi level crossing. Vehicles often get stuck here because of trains. Next, the 12km stretch from Sahudangi to Ambari, would be widened, followed by repairs on another 5km stretch till Belacoba,” Deb said.

“The final portion, around 15km or so, from Belacoba to Gosala More on Jalpaiguri’s outskirts, would be developed by the state PWD,” the minister said.

The plan to build an alternative road, Trinamul insiders said, has been taken up by Deb’s department to meet one of the principal demands of his voters as well as those of Khageswar Roy.

“The Dabgram-Fulbari and Rajganj Assembly seats, represented by Deb and Roy, comprise the entire Rajganj block and thus the entire damaged stretch of NH31D,” a Trinamul source said.

“Local people encounter inconveniences, suffer injuries and their two-wheelers and cars get damaged every day because of the bad condition of NH31D.”

Roy, the Rajganj MLA, when asked why the Congress leaders have been silent on this, said the party wanted to create a hindrance to Trinamul during the panchayat polls.

“Congress leaders, who are aware that the road conditions would be a major issue in the panchayat polls, are sitting idle, instead of taking up the NH31D issue with the Union surface transport ministry and the NHAI,” he said.

“Their intention is to let us down during the rural elections.”

The decision to build the alternative road has also brought cheers to residents of both towns, particularly daily commuters.

“We are relieved to hear that a parallel road would be built and maintained by the state as we don’t know when the NH31D would be repaired or widened to a four-lane highway,” said Shyamal Saha, a bank employee and Jalpaiguri resident who commutes to Siliguri every day.

“Also, during the widening work on NH-31D, traffic congestion can be avoided as many vehicles can take the alternative route then.”

[Suncity]

The Trinamul has been leading the opposition to road widening and gained popular votes. The CPM is also picking up the same tactics as it is now in opposition. Thus many highway expansion projects have been stalled in the state.

NHAI is also not repairing road stretches.

It is ultimately the people of the state who are suffering.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by debayanlahiri

Source: http://epratidin.in/Details.aspx?id=9168&boxid=1456200

I think the journalist made up some of the stuff that is being attriibuted to the ITC chairman. Business leaders always try to be politically correct in front of the media. Then of course I noticed the link. This newspaper is like Ganashakti.