Bengal asks JSW Steel to complete lease deed

The West Bengal government today asked Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Bengal Steel to complete the lease deed and to start work on the steel project at Salboni in West Midnapore district.

The state's Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee held a meeting with the officials of JSW Bengal Steel here along with government officials like WBIDC managing director, land commissioner and land secretary and others for a review.

Chatterjee told reporters after the meeting that there were some land related issues for which the lease deed was not completed.

He said that JSW Bengal had been asked to meet the land commissioner and complete the lease deed by August 10, and then to start work on the project.

Without the deed, JSW Bengal was holding on to nearly 4,334 acres of vested land, some directly bought and patta land.

Chatterjee also asked JSW Bengal to furnish him with further documents on August 11.

The meeting was called against the backdrop of the new government's move to review projects which had not taken off despite possession of land by the companies, where JSW Bengal figured prominently.

JSW Bengal Steel signed an MoU with the West Bengal government in 2007 for an integrated steel plant and power project.

JSW Bengal was represented at the meeting by its joint managing director and CEO Biswadip Gupta and others.

He said that in the absence of the lease deed, the work on the project was getting delayed.

Gupta said the minister saw all the papers and "we had given a power-point presentation on the project".

"As advised by the minister, we would sign the lease deed on August 10 and then take the project forward as early as possible," he added.

Gupta said once the lease deed was complete, the company would go for the financial closure with the banks.

Construction work of the project would start after the monsoon, he said.

To a query, he said that land-losers would be given shares once commercial production started. Presently, the shares were kept with JSW Bengal Steel Trust in the form of warrants.

Gupta said that 138 acres of forest land which was taken for the project had been returned.

The company would also concurrently put up a 300-MW captive power plant along with a 3-million tonne steel plant in the first phase.

JSW Bengal would source iron ore from Jharkhand and Orissa, he said.