Bengal wants to buy NJMC mills

The West Bengal government is keen to buy five mills put up for sale by the central government owned National Jute Manufacturer Corporation (NJMC) at the reserve price notified for the sale process but the Union Government is not responding to its offer on the issue.

"The state government expressed its willingness to buy the mills at the reserve price some months back, in a latter to the Union textiles minister S S Vaghela, but unfortunately the ministry of the Government of India has not responded," said Nirupam Sen, minister for commerce and industries of West Bengal.

The total land available at five mills of the NJMC in the state is about 200 acre. The state government is keen to buy the mills and redevelop the land for industrial use.

Regarding the utilisation of lands of various closed units in the state, the minister said that though the government was exploring different possibilities, the main roadblock was the litigation surrounding all the closed units.

Sen, interacting with the media after a day-long meeting with a panel comprising industrialists, academicians, economists, media professionals and politicians at a city hotel, said that the state would go for "direct buying" of land from the small farmers and avoid acquisition.

"We are working at the grassroot level, consulting with local people along with all political parties to reach a consensus regarding the amount of land to be acquired, compensation package etc, in order to spped up the process of industrialization with minimum pain," he explained.

The minister also stated that the government is thinking to conduct project specific "socio-economic study" to identify the peoples affected by the corresponding project, which would in turn help in the process of determining the compensation package and rehabilitation.

"The objective would be therefore to create model of inclusive development in consultation with the academicians. Industry, government, all stakeholders along with the local people," he added.

The government has identified six "growth poles" across the state to create a balanced and sustainable industrial growth in the state.

The proposed areas were greater Kolkata, Haldia, Asansol-Durgapur, Kharagpur-Jhargram, Siliguri-Jalpaiguri, and Kalyani. These growth poles along with small industrial clusters in all the districts of the state to accommodate small sector enterprises would lead to optimal use of existing infrastructure and facilitate creation of new industrial infrastructure for projects in backward areas.

"There are apprehensions on the part of the small farmers about their livelihood specially after the Singur and Nandigram problems, so there is a need for a comprehensive policy on the process of industrialisation, from land use to a compensation package and rehabilitation," admitted Sen.