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JSW Steel group chairman Sajjan Jindal, has said its Bengal project — the single largest proposed investment for the state at Rs 35,000 crore — had faced problems from the first day. A look at the obstacles:
November 2008: A blast triggered by Naxalites around 16 km from the JSW project site at Salboni, moments after then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s convoy passed by, after laying the foundation stone for the steel plant
June 2009: Jindal claims the project has been delayed due to the global financial crisis. Construction of the steel plant was supposed to commence by March 2010
July 2011: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee publicly expresses disapproval over the delay in the project
August 2011: Dispute over land acquired by JWS. The state government claims the company did not have 14Y exemption for purchasing the private land. The Land Reforms Act, 1955, places a ceiling of 26 acres on land acquisition, while Section 14Y exempts the ceiling. Of 4,334 acres, JSW steel had purchased 294 acres of ryotwari land and 189 acres was given as patta by West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC). Finally, after a series of meetings with company officials, the government decides to vest the land with it and lease it to the company
September 2011: Jindal meets Banerjee to iron out creases. Banerjee assures all issues would be resolved in two weeks
January 2012: Jindal seeks Banerjee’s support for raw material linkages
February 2012: Banerjee writes to the Prime Minister for a national iron ore policy along the lines of a coal policy
April 2012: WBIDC insists on a supplementary agreement with JSW Steel to incorporate several clauses, including an open-ended rehabilitation clause. Issues like capping coal raising and water usage also come up. A development agreement with Left Front-led West Bengal government was signed in 2007
August 2013: It is agreed at a Mumbai investors meet that JSW would take up the power project first
July 2014: West Bengal government sends termination letter for power purchase agreements with JSW. The agreement entailed selling 60 per cent power to the state government
November 2014: Jindal says completion of the project looks difficult without key raw materials. “It is on hold. We have to look at it afresh,” he says.
