Chemical zone plan before central panel

The proposal for setting up of Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region(PCPIR) at Nayachar has been sent to a 14 member high power committee chaired by the cabinet secretary, which got approval from the ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers two days back.

On the sidelines of an interactive session, Sabyasachi Sen, principal secretary of department of commerce and industry, government of West Bengal said, "the ministry has informed the state about the development today. The government hopes that high powered committee will clear it soon. The high-power committee will then send it to the cabinet."

Prior to this, the proposed zone was to be at Nandigram but it had to be withdrawn following trouble and then it was decided to be set up at Nayachar, a 2000-acre island.

Protests in the Lalgarh area in Salboni, near the proposed site for JSW Steel plant, was a cause of concern, officials admitted.

"There is a concern but no alarm. The concern is not for the project but for the safety of our people. We think the project is not the target. We have been working there for last almost two years and no one has told us that there is a problem. People there initially thought that the SEZ is a real estate SEZ and I think people were misinformed that we have taken land for steel plant but will do something else there. Our target is March 2012, and the project will be completed by then," said Biswadip Gupta, joint managing director and chief executive officer of the JSW Steel, Bengal.

The company was negotiating with the State Bank of India over the interest rates.

SBI was to fund the entire debt portion of the project.

Meanwhile the state government is preparing a blue print of the land at Singur, after Tata Motors pulled out its Nano plant.

According to Sabyasachi Sen, it took Tata Motors one and a half year to set up the factory at Singur. "We have to be ready before we are approached by anyone for that land. We will keep the layout ready. Drainage, sewerage, and road network will be detailed out in the plan. The blue print would be able to cater to all possibilities, either a single company or more than one. Tatas have said they would need time but they have not mentioned any timeframe for that. The land lease is renewed every year and the present lease will lapse on March 2009," he said.