JSW committed to 10 mn tonne Bengal project: Sajjan Jindal

JSW Steel today said it was committed to setting up a 10 million tonne integrated steel plant in West Bengal, to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 35,000 crore, within the time frame the company is discussing with the state government.

"I would like to reiterate that the project at Salboni [in West Midnapur district] remains our top priority investment proposal in the Group... We want to implement this project within the time frame that we are discussing with the state government," company's Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal said in a statement.

He added that in the first phase, the company planned to invest Rs 20,000 crore in the project, including investments in power station and coal mines.

The Sajjan Jindal-led company, which had entered into a development agreement with the state government in 2007, has plans to construct a 3 million tonne per annum steel-making capacity, along with a captive power plant of 300 MW in the first phase.

The statement of Jindal came after a decision of West Bengal government last week, in which it decided to vest 270 acres of land from JSW, which has so far acquired 294 acres of land in West Midnapore district for the project.

The decision was taken on the grounds that the land acquired by the company was done with out the approval of the land reforms department, while the Bengal's Land Reforms Act places a ceiling of 24 acres on land acquisition.

Accordingly, the state government would vest 270 acres of land and the JSW Steel's Bengal unit will have to make fresh application for getting it regularise.

"I am happy that the proactive stance taken by the state government has ensured a speedy resolution of some of the issues like allocation of water and regularisation of land acquired by us directly from the land owners," Jindal further said.

JSW Steel Bengal's Joint Managing Director and CEO Biswadip Gupta said that the company had already applied for repossession of land.

"We have already applied for the land and it is merely a technical rectification. After the vesting process is over, we will sign he long-term lease agreement with the government for entire land," he said.