West Bengal - Economy and Project Developments

[anan355]

Taking infrastructural development a step further, the state government would soon sign an MoU with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan of Rs 3,000 crore for a proposed North-South Corridor connecting Morgram in Murshidabad and Mechhogram in East Midnapore. The corridor would pass through Arambagh and Burdwan as well and the MoU is to be signed in January next year.

“ADB authorities have already sanctioned a grant of Rs 5 crore for the feasibility for building the proposed corridor connecting Haldia,” said PWD secretary A Bardhan, adding that the state government has a plan to develop Haldia as the next industrial hub in the state.

Although the central government has placed on hold the industrialisation of Haldia over environmental factors, the state government has a plan to continue the infrastructural development connecting Haldia till the north.
According to sources in the PWD, the proposed road would connect NH-34 and NH-6 over its total 230-km stretch. They also indicated that traffic moving towards Haldia through NH-34 would be diverted through these corridors for further access to the new industrial sector whereas vehicles from all over the country moving through Jharkhand would get faster access to Haldia through NH-6.

“The ADB authorities have assured us that they would prepare the detailed project report for the proposed corridor and the secretary, PWD, would sign the MoU for the loan with approval from the state finance department in the presence of central government authorities in Delhi in January 2013,” said a PWD official.
Sources in the PWD also said that the ADB authorities would conduct a study on this corridor before preparing the detailed project report starting from March next year.

It has been decided that ADB would conduct the study and prepare the detailed project report for the corridor, which may cost nearly Rs 3,000 crore.
State highway development authorities would help ADB officials in preparing this report.

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[anan355]

Source: Bartaman, 16th December 2012

Translation: Sue to switchover to "One-Time Mode", Govt is expecting a big surge in revenue collection from the Transport department.

[anan355]

Pratidin report contained little more details than the Bartaman Post. So giving the link of another article on the same topic.

[anan355]

The state government has decided to amalgamate sick dairies with the Mother Dairy Project following profits achieved by the new government.


“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is very happy with the performance of Mother Dairy. We have already ordered for amalgamation of Burdwan Dairy with Mother Dairy. Subsequently, we are processing the other dairies for amalgamation in phases,” said animal resource development minister Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury following a high level meeting at Writers’ Buildings on Friday.


It has also been decided that the government would procure milk from producers by increasing prices by `2 in both flush and lean seasons.

Mother Dairy, a public-private initiative, recently crossed the breakeven mark leaving behind a monthly subsidy of `7 crore. “The chief minister has congratulated us and with the performance of Mother Dairy, she is very hopeful about its further flourishing,” said Chowdhury.

The state government has six dairies, namely Haringhata, Belgachia, Krishnagar, Burdwan, Central Dairy in Kolkata and Durgapur.

The Burdwan Dairy has amalgamated with Mother Dairy. The minister has indicated that in the proposed amalgamation, only Haringhata Dairy would be excluded because it would be modernised in a different initiative as it is a heritage dairy. Animal resource department sources confirmed that these government dairies are still sustaining huge losses daily.

The minister also said that in the last one-and-a-half years, Mother Dairy has achieved strong margins in sales of diversified products like ice-cream, probiotic curd, ghee, paneer, packaged bottle water and other products. “If the chief minister did not pressure us for not increasing the price of milk, we would not be able to achieve this goal,” said Chowdhury.


It is the sole reason that the animal resource department has succeeded in increasing the minimum support price for milk producers across the state. The producers sell milk to 3,800 cooperative societies and in turn, the milk is consumed by the dairies through 13 milk producers’ unions in the districts. The increased price would help 2.5 lakh milk producers in the state.
The total production of milk received by all government and non-government dairies is 10.5 lakh litres a day. Since 60 per cent of the total milk produced in the state is used for confectioneries or sweetmeat shops, the remaining 40 per cent is left for the dairies, triggering a deficit of four to five lakh litres a day. The producers would get Rs 18 for a kg of milk from May 16 to August 15, and Rs 19 for the rest of the year.


With the success story of Mother Dairy, the state government is taking a joint initiative to increase the number of milk booths in and around the city. “We are approaching the housing department for a small piece of land so that a parlour may be opened and production can increase,” added Chowdhury. The dairy authorities have already passed a plan to set up new milk booths in Barasat, Sonarpur, Diamond Harbour, Narendrapur, Maheshtala and Budge Budge.

With instructions from chief minister Mamata Banerjee, vegetables are already being sold from 52 booths for a reduced price jointly with the food processing and horticulture department.

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[anan355]

Source


Translation:

State Govt is going for another round of fresh loans to give the DA to state Govt Employees. This loan is going to be taken by issuing bonds. Though the revenue has increased, however the expenses has increased manifold. Half of the unplanned expenditure is being spent on salaries and pension amount.

WB govt has to shell out higher interest rate because of the fiscal position of the state, In last 1.5 years, around Rs. 32000 crores of new loan has been taken by the state govt.

[anan355]

Source: Pratidin, 17th December, 2012
http://sangbadpratidin.in/pratidin/westbengal.php


Translation:
Eastern Railways is going to construct a flyover / ROB near Chuapur in Baharampur. This will reduce traffic snarl. Total estimated project cost is 33 crores. Construction is going to start on a priority basis soon.

[anan355]

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union minister of state with independent charge of power, visited Raghunathpur in Purulia district on Sunday. Scindia came to lay the foundation stone for the second phase of a thermal power project which would be operational under the aegis of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).
In his brief inaugural speech, Scindia claimed that in the 12th Five Year Plan, the Indian government had set a target of generating 90,000MW of electricity.



On Saturday afternoon, around 2,000 local residents who lost their land for setting up the project organised a protest to attract the notice of the minister to their plight. The oustees through their protest let the central minister know that they had been deprived by DVC in terms of compensation for their land. They also demanded that they had not been given any jobs till date as promised by DVC at the time of acquisition of the land for project.
“I must talk with the DVC management regarding the plight of the landless. We should keep in mind that DVC has a long track record of commitment to social and corporate responsibilities to enhance the level of infrastructure and local economy in their project areas. I am very proud to declare that I have come to Raghunathpur with a power generation project that would pump in `10,000 crore and that would surely better the socio-economic status of the backward place,” said Scindia.Scindia landed in Raghunathpur by helicopter from Kolkata and returned by the afternoon. Union minister of state in charge of urban development Deepa Das Munshi accompanied him on his hurricane visit.


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[anan355]

Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) expects to commission the first unit of Ragunathpur thermal power unit in Purulia district of West Bengal by March next year, an official said.

“The initial date for commissioning of the first unit was November 2010, but due to non-availability of water we could not start the unit,” chief engineer of Ragunathpur thermal power station (RTPS) JK Singh said.

However, he said recently the water connectivity work has begun for a 10-km pipeline from Panchet dam to the plant site.

The project has been delayed by 18 months due to problems in land acquisition. The second unit of the first phase is expected to be commissioned in the middle of 2013, Singh said.

The first phase of the thermal power project consists of two units of 600 MW each. The project is yet to acquire 400 acres of land for rail corridor and township from the state government out of the total 2,098 acres needed for the 2520MW thermal power project.

The entire project is due to be completed by 2017. “Rural Electrification Corporation is likely to finance bulk of the Rs 6,300 crore loan for the second phase of the plant,” DVC chairman RN Sen said.

The financial closure of the Rs 9,089 crore project is expected soon. DVC aims to add 3520 MW in the 12th Plan period to become 10,729 MW company by 2017.


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[anan355]

Fearing the impact of climate change and spiralling energy costs, the country is gearing up to implement measures to curb emission growth.

The government has pledged to cut carbon intensity, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic output, by around 25 per cent by 2020, from 2005 levels.

Like other states, West Bengal too has taken steps by thinking and acting green. The state has identified a need to design a climate-friendly industrial policy to promote sustainable development.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the British deputy high commission, Kolkata, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and West Bengal Pollution Control Board have undertaken a project to frame fiscal instruments for climate-friendly industrial development in West Bengal, Odisha and Tamil Nadu.


The project’s objective is to help West Bengal and other states adopt appropriate fiscal instruments by 2013 to mobilise low carbon investment and facilitate low carbon industrial development.

The project, which is being funded by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Prosperity Fund India programme, has already allotted around Rs 30 lakh to Eunomia (a data analysis institute), Jadavpur University and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for organising seminars and R&D.

It has been estimated that formulation of a proper fiscal policy for climate-friendly industrial development in the state can generate annual revenues of around Rs 400 crore for West Bengal and more than $19,000 million by 2030.

“The objective is to create a financial reallocation model, where the money generated from within the economy will finance targeted green activity through performance-based criteria,” says Abraham G Stephanos, vice-chairman, environment sub-committee, CII.

The fiscal instruments will help the states to in reducing carbon dioxide footprint per unit of power consumption and, thereby, attract more foreign investments and funds.

A cost-benefit analysis for the shortlisted instruments has been done. Sectors shortlisted under the project are power, industry, incentives for waste heat recovery in sponge iron and other industries, construction, waste management and renewable energy.

It has been estimated, that around 190 million tonne greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 2030, if a proper fiscal instrument is implemented. The state can then monetise the amount of reduced emission by the process of carbon trading.

Carbon trading or emissions trading or cap-and-trade is a market-based approach used to control pollution providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions. The buyer has to pay a charge for polluting, while the seller is being rewarded for having reduced emissions.

Moreover, there is a proposal to levy green cess on conventional producers of power at a rate of Rs 0.2 / kWh (kilowatt-hour), that would generate Rs 400 crore, annually for the state. The amount is almost one per cent of state revenue receipts.

“We have analysed that implementation of the fiscal instrument will not put any additional burden on state budgetary expenditure. In fact, it will generate around 30 per cent of the costs of the state’s Climate Change Action Plan,” said Dominic Hogg of Eunomia, which is involved in developing cost-benefit analysis models for the project.

The committee has come up with low carbon refunding schemes for the power and other industries. For the power sector, it has suggested imposing a cess or surcharge based on the carbon content of input fuel used by the plants and to incentivise improved power generation from per unit of carbon.



For other industries, it has recommended a cess or surcharge on electricity used, refunding the net revenue to the industry on criteria of profitability and to incentivise improvements on profitability per unit of electricity use.



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[anan355]

CM Meets industrialists in Delhi : 3 different reports by 3 different groups


Lets first go to Telegraph Report

Mamata Banerjee drew only a handful of big-ticket business surnames to her Delhi durbar and one left midway after raising the unpalatable FDI in retail in what was interpreted as a “walkout”.

About an hour into the interaction at the new Banga Bhavan complex in Chanakyapuri, Sunil Munjal of the Hero Group suggested that the Trinamul Congress review its opposition to FDI in multi-brand retail as it would help farmers in Bengal. He also referred to the land problem.

Munjal, the joint managing director of Hero MotoCorp, added that the state should identify 100 important projects, monitor them constantly at the highest level and showcase them as success stories.

“I wish you all the best,” Munjal told Mamata.

“I wish you all the best in your business, too,” Mamata replied. It was around 7.15pm.

A little later, Munjal left and the programme continued for another half an hour.

While leaving, Munjal told waiting reporters — the event was a closed-door affair — that the Hero Group had no plans to invest in Bengal at the moment. “I came here because she invited me,” Munjal said.

The organisers of the show insisted Munjal had informed them in advance that he had another programme and would have to leave at 7pm — the scheduled closing time.

But a source close to Munjal said late tonight: “You can call it a walkout if you must. Somebody had to tell it as it is. Many kept saying they had problems but, in the next breath, they were showering praises.”

Asked about Munjal’s FDI statement, Rajan Bharti Mittal, who is spearheading the Bharti Group’s joint venture with Walmart for retail and who took part in the interaction today, said: “She said she needs more time to understand things like this and it can’t happen in a forum like this.”

Munjal and Mittal were among some of the big names at the meeting that otherwise largely drew second-rung business representatives. Some of the other standout names were Atul Singh, president of Coca-Cola India, Pratap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospital, and Naina Lal Kidwai, country head of HSBC. Apollo has operations in Bengal and Kidwai is also Ficci president.
==========================



Atul Singh, president of Coca-Cola India, Pratap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospital, and Naina Lal Kidwai, country head of HSBC--- are second rung business representatives?



==========================

“We explained our government’s stand on industry. It was a very good discussion. People had misconception about Bengal. They have been cleared,” Mamata said after the meeting.

Several participants later applauded her “sincerity” but added it was too early to say if investments would flow in.

Ajit Gulabchand, the chairman of construction major HCC, said the meeting went off well but added that business could not be held hostage to politics.

“You have to create a predictable atmosphere for business to thrive. If there is a policy, no one is going to change it, nobody is going to pass a retrospective act or going to stop implementation of a project. Without that, who will invest?” Gulabchand asked without making a direct reference to Singur.

“I liked her passion. But I want to see the implementation on the ground,” he added.

An insider said at least two participants pointed out that it was difficult to get any job done in Bengal and the state’s image needed correction.



==========================


So Telegraph had insiders among the second rung business leaders in a closed door meeting.

==========================
“The CM explained that her government has been in place for just about 18 months and she had many priorities,” the source said.

Trinamul MP Derek ’Brien later described the event as “the most important meeting in the party’s history”.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/112121...p#.UM-7rKyHUY4

[anan355]

Now BENGAL PORTAL News


As many as 42 top industrialists of the country expressed their desire on Monday to invest in West Bengal. They were meeting chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the national capital.
The industrialists had a closed-door meeting with Banerjee and her cabinet colleagues at Delhi’s Banga Bhavan for over two and a half hours, discussing investment prospects.
Right after the meeting, top industrialist Pawan Dalmia said he had plans to start a Rs 500 crore cement factory at Salboni in Jangalmahal.

A top Steel Authority of India (SAIL) official said the company had plans to invest in a $6 billion project in the state. “If we can start the projects, more than 35,000 people will get
employment opportunities,” the SAIL official said.

CEOs and CMDs from HSBC, Hindustan construction, Ambuja cement and Coca Cola were present among others at the meeting.
Describing the meeting as fruitful, Bengal industry minister Partha Chatterjee said his government was taking all steps for overall industrial development of the state.
“We also appeal to the opposition parties to support us instead of getting involved in a destructive agenda,” Chatterjee said.

Echoing him, state finance minister Amit Mitra said Monday’s meeting had brought hopes of industrialization with help from mega industrialists of the country.
“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had replied to some queries from the industrialists, which cleared their mindset about our government’s positive thinking about industrialization,” Mitra said.

http://portal.thebengalpost.com/inde...48751355762683

[anan355]

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr


Source: http://sangbadpratidin.in/pratidin/national.php

[NiladriG]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/17659711.cms

When Mamata Banerjee was showcasing Bengal before Indian Inc in New Delhi, her partymen back home were bent on undoing her efforts.

Two local Trinamool toughs on Monday threw a spanner on the construction of the new
Kolaghat bridge on NH6, across the Rupnarayan. The duo allegedly threatened the contractors unless they bowed to the terms of Panskura Trinamool MLA Biplab Roy Chowdhury, prompting the builders to stop work indefinitely. Kolaghat, home to the state's largest thermal power plant, is on the Golden Quadrilateral.

"This is not a one-day affair. We have come under pressure from local-level ruling politicians, who want us to engage their own men on the construction site. Our supervisors were on their edge. On Monday , Trinamool toughs Shiekh Mansur (Michael) and Shiekh Hamid Ansari came to the site and started intimidating the supervisors. They demanded that the supervisors wind up work and sit for talks with local Trinamool MLA Biplab Roy Chowdhury or face the consequences," said senior project manager Jay Shankar Singh, who works with Arvind Techno Engineering Pvt Ltd — the firm hired for the project. Company officials also hinted that some Trinamool men were demanding money.

Singh said he had a telephonic discussion with the MLA, who said "the heavens won't fall if work was stopped for a day". "When I rang the local MLA, he asked me to stop work for the day and come for talks. This, at a time when NHAI wants to finish this long delayed project on a priority basis," Singh said.

The company refused to go for talks and lodged an FIR at Kolaghat police station, naming the two Trinamool toughs. Howrah SP Sukesh Jain confirmed the complaint. "We are ready to give them police protection to continue work. It appears there is some union problem. I will see that it is sorted out," the SP said.

Unfazed by the controversy, the Trinamool MLA held that all 700-odd workers at the bridge site belong to Inttuc. Brushing aside the suspension of work, Roy Chowdhury said: "These workers are being denied the minimum wages approved by the state government. I don't know why work was stalled. I request the contractors to start work tomorrow," he said.

Sk Sahabuddin, Kolaghat unit president of Congress union Intuc opposed the Trinamool view. "Workers with diverse political loyalties are working here. That is not a problem. Trouble broke out after some greenhorn Trinamool touts started putting pressure on contractors to engage their own men. They also threatened the builders," said Sahabuddin.

A section of Trinamool leaders has long been demanding that locals be hired. It's not the first time that work at Kolaghat bridge has come to a halt. In March, a mob allegedly led by Trinamool Congress leaders from Bagnan had ransacked the Naopala site office.

[Sumanb]

Originally Posted by anan355

CM Meets industrialists in Delhi : 3 different reports by 3 different groups


Munjal and Mittal were among some of the big names at the meeting that otherwise largely drew second-rung business representatives. Some of the other standout names were Atul Singh, president of Coca-Cola India, Pratap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospital, and Naina Lal Kidwai, country head of HSBC. Apollo has operations in Bengal and Kidwai is also Ficci president.
==========================



Atul Singh, president of Coca-Cola India, Pratap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospital, and Naina Lal Kidwai, country head of HSBC--- are second rung business representatives?



==========================
http://www.telegraphindia.com/112121...p#.UM-7rKyHUY4

Anan, please read the report fully & carefully before putting your tirade against a newspaper

Nowehere, TT has mentioned that Coca Cola, HSBC are second rung industrialists .... on the contary they have mentioned 'Some of the other standout names were Atul Singh, president of Coca-Cola India, Pratap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospital, and Naina Lal Kidwai, country head of HSBC.'

[anan355]

Originally Posted by Sumanb

Anan, please read the report fully & carefully before putting your tirade against a newspaper

Nowehere, TT has mentioned that Coca Cola, HSBC are second rung industrialists .... on the contary they have mentioned 'Some of the other standout names were Atul Singh, president of Coca-Cola India, Pratap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospital, and Naina Lal Kidwai, country head of HSBC.'

Yes my mistake...so what does it mean... the second rung business representatives mean the following people... ??

1. Ajit Gulabchand, the chairman of construction major HCC,
2. NTPC Chairman Arup Roychowdhuri
3. Priya Paul / Karan Paul of Apeejay Surendra Group

Name 1 is mentioned in Telegraph Report itself, the other names are mentioned in Pratidin Report.

If these people are second rung business representatives , then ...

[anan355]

The Centre has approved the state's plan to take immediate steps against climate change. It will be executed by the state government once the funds are released. The funding agency, however, is yet to be decided.

A senior environment department official said that West Bengal was one of the few states that had submitted the plan of action for the climate change draft plan at the earliest. The Union ministry of environment and forest has given its nod and it will take a year for the state to implement the measures, the official said.


Once the funding agency is decided, the state government departments that are directly or indirectly linked to the environment, namely irrigation, power, water resources, environment and urban development, will draw their respective course of action to put into action the recommendations in the plan.

Some of these recommendations that find mention are taking immediate measures to cut down emission of greenhouse gases in Sunderbans, Dooars and Darjeeling. These areas are vulnerable to global warming and climate change and are plagued by soil erosion, scarcity of water and shifting of agricultural production centres to higher altitudes.

The environment department had earlier prepared a study which gave an alarming picture of the climate change in the state if adequate steps weren't taken.

The report states that changes in the climate may begin as early as 2021 with average temperature soaring up, lesser occurrence of rainfall, a sharp rise in sea water level and frequency of tropical country diseases like malaria. A majority of mangrove forests in Sunderbans may go under water, it had warned.

A World Bank study had also identified Kolkata as among the most vulnerable cities in the country to climate change and global warming. The study had cast a grim forecast for the city by 2050. The areas that were likely to be hit were Tiljala, Topsia, Tangra, Baisnabghata and Patuli due to their unplanned urban growth.

The state government will start executing the plan after it starts getting the fund. It is yet to be decided as to from which funding agency -World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) or any other agency - the funds will be sanctioned for executing the plan.

The state government was already working on the integrated coastal zone development plan for the coastal areas of Digha, Sankarpur and Mandarmani, being executed with ADB funds.

A senior environment department official said that the plan that was earlier submitted by the state has been approved by the union ministry of environment and forest and it will take about an year for the state to start executing the plans. All the other states have also been preparing the draft plan and West Bengal was one of the states that had submitted the plan at the earliest.



Source

[anan355]

After Delhi, the Mamata Banerjee government is planning to hold a meeting with the business honchos in Mumbai, the country's financial capital.

"We have plans to go to Mumbai for another meeting. A date will be fixed soon," state industries minister Partha Chatterjee said at the Writers' Buildings after returning from Delhi on Tuesday.

Chatterjee said that the perception on Bengal has changed and investment proposals have come in the sectors of cement, power and manufacturing. "Many of the industrialists have shown interest in tourism and infrastructure. There are proposed cement factory projects in places like Salboni and Asansol," the minister said, adding that a plot of about 60 acres at Malda, that was taken by a leading industry conglomerate back in 2008-09, is still lying idle and talks are on the issue.

According to Chatterjee, said that the industrialists have mentioned about the need to speed up to set up infrastructure and thatthe government wants to expand the industrial areas in the state. "The best place for industrial expansion is Haldia, given that the Centre's embargo has been withdrawn.

Dankuni and its surrounding areas and some parts of Howrah, Kulti, Falta, Raniganj belt, West Midnapore and Bankura also have good potential," he said.

The state has made it clear that it would not acquire land further, but industrialists can come forward and buy land themselves. Chatterjee had earlier said one of the two plants of ACC Cement at Sankrail and Bandel was ready for inauguration and Texmaco, too, have expressed interest in setting up a food processing unit at Sankrail.

He had also said that Essar Oil, that already has two projects here, wanted to set up their third coal bed methane (CBD) project at Asansol with an investment of Rs 5,200 crore.

The industrial subcommittee was looking into all industrial proposals. Chatterjee had also said that the government had already cleared 222 proposals with an investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore in several districts in the last one-and-a-half years.

Following the meeting with industrialists at Delhi, the Mamata Banerjee government now plans to hold another round of meeting with industrialists, this time at Mumbai in an attempt to bring in more investment proposals for the state.


Source



So the ban on industries in Haldia is done away with....this is definitely a good news

[Suncity]

The ministers are saying that they have cleared all doubts amongst industrialists and the industrialists want to invest in Bengal. That is the ministers' understanding of the situation. Hopefully they are understanding the pulse of the investor community correctly.

Industry needs land.

Bengal's so called land bank allegedly doesn't have big plots of land. So at best medium and small scale industries can come up in the plots under the land bank scheme. That sector has always been Bengal's priority. So nothing new in it.

Large scale industry will usually need large chunks of land. They will thus have to buy "directly" from farmers. Now it is not so easy as it sounds. Every piece of land has multiple beneficieries - even the landless who work on the farms have a claim. Also there are land restrictions which need state approval. Why would anyone want to go through such hassles. Just because they have special love for Bengal? Bengal is not only in competition with other Indian states but also with ASEAN.

Bengal definitely has a lot of potential. But its politicians are crazy and even when they are driving the state backwards, they think they are driving forward.

"Sab kichu hoye geche, sab kichu kore felechi" is the new mantra. Should we take this new mantra seriously or as a joke remains a question.

[rupakd]

Bengal project is on: Videocon
Dhoot Says Group Set To Build Steel, Power Plants In 2 Areas, Buy More Land

Clearing the air on the uncertainties and speculations regarding the much-talked-about Rs 18,000-crore steel and power project in Bengal, Videocon chairman V N Dhoot on Tuesday told TOI that it has appointed global consultancy major KPMG for the same. “The project is on. We already have 300 acres for the project but we need more land which we shall buy directly. Videocon Group will talk to the state government on this issue. We need 1,400 acres for the entire project,” he added.
Dhoot indicated that the electronicsto-steel conglomerate may also break the project into two parts. It could set up the steel and power units in two different locations. Videocon had signed an MoU with the then state government in 2008 for setting up a three-million-tonne steel plant and a 1,600MW power unit with an investment of Rs 18,000 crore at Jamuria near Asansol. However, the project hit a roadblock following an objection raised by Coal India that the project site has coal-bearing areas. Later on, alignment of the projects that encompasses coalbearing areas was changed but it got delayed further as the global economic recession had set in.
Besides, Videocon project, a two-million-tonne steel project of Abhijeet group (Rs 10,800 crore), 1.1 million tonne steel project of Adhunik group (Rs 7,000 crore) also hit the same hurdle.
When asked about coal linkage, Dhoot said the coal ministry will go for auction of mines and Videocon will participate in the same. “We are hopeful to get one through auction,” he added.
A Videocon official had earlier said that the consultants would look for steel technology where land requirement is less. The initial requirement for land was 3,000 acres which was later brought down to 1,400 acres. “In the current scenario, it is difficult to acquire a large tract of land in a single location. There is a possibility to split the project,” he added.
Sources close to development said Videocon may go for a 500MW power plant to initiate things here which will require around 300-350 acres land and the same can be applied for the steel project where the group might take it down to around one million tonne.
Videocon was supposed to produce value-added cold-rolled steel for automobile and engineering industry with US technology. It also has investment plans in IT and electronics sectors in Bengal.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...1903&AppName=1

[NiladriG]

Originally Posted by Suncity

Bengal definitely has a lot of potential. But its politicians are crazy and even when they are driving the state backwards, they think they are driving forward.

"Sab kichu hoye geche, sab kichu kore felechi" is the new mantra. Should we take this new mantra seriously or as a joke remains a question.

Till date Partha Chatterjee has not been able to give the list of investments in his 1 lakh crore. If I am not wrong, this is Mamata's 4 or 5th meeting with industrialists, but the result is not much different. Infosys project is gone. I don't understand one thing, first they call industrialists to invest in state, when they come the govt. starts putting roadblocks saying this is against our principles. All I see is Mamata saying no to everything.

1. No to FDI
2. No to cable tv digitisation
3. No to water tax
4. No to SEZ
5. No to land acquisition.
6. No cash transfer for poor.
7. No to action against tax defaulters.

She is simply another JB in making. It would be catastrophic for Bengal.