The ascent of the Trinamul Congress in Bengal politics was marked by its agitation over land acquisition for industry, making the investor community sceptical about how the new government will attract industrialists to set up base and create jobs. Seven months down the line, the new government under the leadership of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and industry minister Partha Chatterjee is all set to make its most unequivocal statement yet about its industrialisation drive at Bengal Leads, the state's first-of-its-kind investor fair. Chatterjee speaks to Sambit Saha and Pinak Ghosh ofThe Telegraph about what he did to dispel the doubts post-Nano and build confidence among investors, and the road ahead on the eve of the six-day fair beginning today at Milan Mela ground. An excerpt: Q: The Trinamul Congress came to power cashing in on the agitation over land acquisition for industry. When you took charge of the commerce and industry department, did you have misgivings over whether the business community would back you? A: No, I never had a doubt for once. When we started our andolon (at Singur and Nandigram), even then I was concerned that industry must not have a negative view about us. That is why before we came into power, I took Mamata Banerjee twice to the Bengal Chamber of Commerce. Our whole fight was that fertile land should not be taken for setting up industries... eta Tata/Bata je keu hote pare. (It could be Tata or Bata or anyone). I have not stopped attending any chamber events… aami onoshon monche jerom gechi, chamber eo gechi. (I have participated in stage protests as well chamber meetings). I have categorically said that Singur is an isolated case. The low land on the other side could have been raised. Mamata wrote a letter to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee from the stage not to make it an ego issue. Some alternative arrangement could have been done. But they did not listen to us. It came to my knowledge much later that the Tatas were actually shown a site at Kharagpur before Singur. If you follow my Assembly addresses since my days as an MLA of 2001, our leader and now the chief minister always wanted a balance between industry and agriculture. Q: But don't you think it is still early days. How is the response from industry? A: Numbers will speak for themselves. Within six months we have been able to achieve investments worth Rs 64,000 crore. And mind it, I have not included the Jindal Steel and Matix Fertilizer projects in this. There are several local companies expanding or setting up projects such as Tractor India and Hindusthan National Glass. Many projects are coming up in the industrial parks, too. I think, we have been able to shed our anti-industry image so far. Q: But industry wants land and your government is not going to acquire for them. How would the big industries come up then? A: I can tell you that we have identified 3 lakh acres of land already! But this is fragmented and I think the survey has not been correctly looked into. Still, I believe that 44,000-45000 acres can be contiguous. We ourselves (the industry department) have got 8,000 acres in our hands. The problem is that all investors want land near the highway to reduce their logistics cost. Wherever there has been a big industry, smaller industries have come up near them and even townships have developed, such as Durgapur. So, the need of the hour is setting up big industries and smaller industries can automatically grow near them. However, given the economic slump, it is very difficult to get a big industry now. Q: But the Left Front says that you are only taking credit for the projects they have brought. What do you have to say? A: The previous government has not even formed MoUs for some of the proposed projects. They had only decided that they want the project. But they overlooked as to how the companies could actually execute the project and in what time, what employment they could generate and what the state government could contribute. Work on the Jindal and Matix projects were in no position to begin. Thus, one of my major work since I assumed office was to get the paperwork (the MoUs and development agreements) done so that work on those projects that were promised to the people actually started. Q: How do you plan to go about going forward... let's say in the next six months? A: We need to have more roadshows in different states. We have had made attempts overseas in the past but no industry has come. I doubt that any major player will be interested because globally there is downturn now. Thus, our primary target is to create a positive image among domestic investors first. Also the economy is opening up more to the world and if we can set up a strong image then it will benefit us. If we can highlight ourselves as a state where projects can be executed, then we can create confidence among the investors. Q: What will be the big thrust? A: We are giving more focus to the automobile and manufacturing sectors. We need to consider how Chennai transformed itself into an auto hub. We have already brought TVS. We have tried with Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki. We are hoping to bring in GM as well. We believe that there is a great potential in the auto space. Sales are rapidly growing even in the economically backward areas because people have access to loans from banks. I believe that there is future here for at least 30-35 years. IT is another sector where I mean business. There is potential in the state. IT giants such as Infosys, TCS and Webel are interested in Bengal. All these sectors (auto, manufacturing, IT) have tremendous employment generating capabilities too. If we can send a signal to the unemployed that there will be more employment opportunities, they will support us. If we can send a signal to entrepreneurs that they can set up and operate their business peacefully in the state, they will bring more investment. The end result will be the creation of more wealth for the state. Q: What are your thoughts on reviving the traditional sectors A: The backbone of our economy still remains engineering and textile, especially jute, besides agriculture. Thus, one of our focus areas is to bring investment in these sectors. Already engineering equipment makers Telcon and TIL are in the process of setting up their factories and we have invited Mallika Srinivasan of TAFE (Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd) to Bengal Leads as well. In jute, we require diversification. For that, technology upgradation and modernisation are necessary. We are also thinking about setting up a jute park. Q: Your final words on the land issue... A: I have said several times that in Bengal land shall not be an issue. We have already cleared (Sanjay) Budhia's project and 11 others (stuck in 14 Y clauses). We have also cleared the Jindal plan and settled the Nayachar issue. We are in the process of resolving the Haldia Petrochemicals case. Further, there has been Rs 5,000-crore investment in developing gas supply network. Thus, our success rate has been quite high despite all these issues. | 
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment