CM Adhikari hails ₹4,000 crore investment as boost for West Bengal's economy

At the foundation stone laying ceremony on Monday for the ₹4,000-crore Amit Metalinks steel plant at Raghunathpur in Purulia district, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari emphasised the need to employ local people as unskilled labour. This is the largest investment so far in the state, promising 5000 direct and indirect jobs.

“To improve the economic condition of the state and to provide employment, industrialisation is very essential,” said Suvendu Adhikari as he went on to speak further about getting rid of the 34-year-old rule of Left Front and trade union politics.

The CM also referred to doing away with forceful land acquisition, terming it a bad practice in a democratic country. Forceful land acquisition is what went against the Left regime and propelled the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress(TMC) to power.

“In the last 15 years there has been no industry. Only distribution of dole and high appeasement politics. We want to come out of this too. We want industrial growth, employment and ancillary industries. There should be infrastructure development as West Bengal goes further ahead of other states,” added Adhikari.

Apart from Amit Metalinks, there was mention of laying the foundation stone of another steel company, referring to the ₹1000 crore Shyam Steel project. “It is a continuous effort,” explained the CM, extending all support required to the industrialist.

The CM mentioned other industrial projects initiated within 100 days of the saffron party’s governance in Bengal, like the ₹600 crore Lux Cosy project, laying the foundation stone of the ₹700 crore Amul factory. Assurance of environmental clearance, a single window system, providing land in accordance with a land purchase policy, a land pooling policy and incentives based on employment generation capacity, not merely on amount of investment.

Investors pumping in more than ₹100 crore will get permission centrally, not locally, with the promise of changing a lot of policies with a quick turnaround time. “West Bengal government is always ready to provide whatever support is required. Every month, every moment you will see how we move towards industrial growth,” added the CM, terming the foundation stone laying ceremony of Amit Metalinks as a gift to Bengal on the completion of 100 days of his government.

The project is expected to be completed within a period of 1000 days, with Adhikari pushing for an 800-day completion instead. Beyond the promise of bringing industry into West Bengal, the saffron party is determined to speed up the process and show its capability in developing the state in a shorter span of time. A trump card against the erstwhile Left and TMC governments, amidst a confidence-building measure for the masses who voted them into power.