West Bengal CM Adhikari lays foundation of Rs 15,000 crore steel plant in Bankura

In yet another big-ticket investment push, Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday laid the foundation stone of a Rs 15,000 crore extension project of a steel plant at Mejia in Bankura district, some 200 km from Kolkata.

The steel plant is owned by the Shyam Steel Group, which is likely to invest Rs 15,000 crore in phases. The industrial unit was likely to generate about 15-20 thousand jobs. Out of the total Rs 15,000 crore, Rs 10,000 crore is likely to be invested in a new 2-million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant and the remaining Rs 5,000 crore would be used for defense manufacturing, real estate, and infrastructure, inside source said. 

“This plant promises massive job opportunities in the region and the surrounding areas of Purulia, West Bardhaman and West Midnapore, the Chief Minister said,” adding it was not enough to recall the migrant workers back to Bengal from other States.

“If we cannot build the infrastructure in the State, then how will the migrant workers return,” he said, adding these projects would not only help build industrial infrastructure but also generate revenue for the State.

Saying that the investors were returning to Bengal because of the political change of power that had taken place in the State after the recently concluded elections. “Had the change not taken place in Bengal the investments would have gone to Odisha … in the coming days, thousands of crores would be invested in Purulia, Bankura and Jangalmahal, generating jobs for thousands of people who have been leaving Bengal as migrant workers,” he said.

Speaking at the event, Adhikari promised an investor-friendly ecosystem, saying improved law and order, easier land availability, and employment-linked incentives would woo back the investors.

The Chief Minister had already declared a single window policy for the industries that would invest Rs 100 crore or more in the State.