West Bengal BJP president writes to CM, wants chemical park at Singur
Seeking to restore Singur on the industrial map of West Bengal, president of State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Samik Bhattacharya has written
Seeking to restore Singur on the industrial map of West Bengal, president of State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Samik Bhattacharya has written a letter to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to set up a chemical park at Singur. Referring to the BHAVYA Rasayan scheme, a ₹3,030 crore Central initiative to establish three dedicated Chemical Parks across the country, Mr. Bhattacharya said that it was “a rare opportunity for West Bengal to anchor a national-scale chemicals hub.” “Some sites that merit consideration, owing to their historical and logistical compatibility with the project are Singur, Haldia, Raghunathpur, and Durgapur. Other than the aforementioned areas, I urge the government to assess and select any other site which the government deems fit for this project,” the BJP Rajya Sabha MP said.
Singur, has been synonymous with the failed promise of industrialisation in West Bengal, particularly after the Tata Motors decided to move out its proposed small car factory in 2008 owing to protest against forcible land acquisition led by Trinamool Congress chairperson and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. After the BJP came to power in the State, the West Bengal government is trying to re-establish the State on industrial map of the country. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that since the land at Singur has been returned to farmers by the previous Trinamool Congress regime, it has to be acquired again for setting up industry. The 997 acres of land was officially ordered to be returned to the farmers in 2016 by the Supreme Court of India, during the regime of Trinamool Congress government.
Farmers have found the land on which a factory shed was constructed difficult to till and grow crops on. “Direct employment across construction, plant operations, logistics, and ancillary MSMEs, with strong multiplier effects for downstream sectors such as agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and electronics,” the BJP leader said. Over the past few weeks, along with the Chief Minister, the BJP president was seen at events where industrial houses have promised investment in the State. Bhattacharya had made statements such as he wants the Tatas to return to Singur and send a message to the entire country and the world that West Bengal is investor-friendly and is ready to welcome investments.
In his letter the WB BJP president said that early movers under national schemes typically draw outsized private investment, and this Chemical Park could “realistically pull in billions in downstream private capital over time, as anchor tenants and their supplier ecosystems located around the park.” It would meaningfully expand the footprint of chemicals, speciality chemicals and battery-materials companies in the State, he added in the letter.
The BriefWire