Industrialists of Kolhan belonging to rich industrial districts of East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharswan are pinning hopes on the formation of new Government in the State.
The mood is upbeat in the industrial belt after Raghubar Das was elected as the leader of the ruling party. In the industrial areas of Adityapur, Ghamharia, Kandra and Chandil, issues like poor roads, lack of bridges, water and erratic power supply are some of the key issues that need to be addressed. The entrepreneurs are hopeful that the newly formed Government would work for their betterment.
“The best of part of the Assembly outcome is that we have a majority-led Government. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Raghubar has a vision of industrialisation. We are hopeful that he will take steps to remove bottlenecks. There are several ancillary units and steps to be taken to motivate them,” said Bharat Wasani, vice-president, Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Naresh Nagelia, a city-based entrepreneur, said that the State Government should work on a rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy to help the industry acquire land smoothly. Besides, the Government should also process mining licences for raw material such as iron ore and coal, key to steelmaking. He said that there are several projects lying in limbo due to land acquisition hurdles. It is not only a matter of investment but the proceeds of the same could have been utilised in transforming the underdeveloped Adityapur into developed zone besides, the Government too, had earned handsome revenue.
President of Adityapur Small Industries Association SN Thakur is pinning hopes that the proposed Special Economic Zones and Adityapur Auto Cluster limited would grow with faster speed with the formation of Government. He said a stable Government is the need of the hour. Suresh Sonthalia, president of Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also said that power and roads are some of the important issues concerning the industrial area. At a time when most of the units are facing the slump, steps need to be taken to improve the overall situation in the Singhbhum districts.
The expansion of the industries in the Adityapur industrial area has got hit severely with nearly Rs700 crore investments getting hampered so far, in the current fiscal year. The Adityapur Industrial Area Development Authority (AIADA), the principle body overseeing the land acquisition exercise has failed to deliver as far as acquiring land for the industries is concerned.
It may be noted that the sprawling Adityapur Industrial Area houses 900 units — including 11 large scale, 64 small scale and 166 tiny industries. A few important industries that have global presence are Usha Martin Group, RSB Group, Tata Steel Growth Shop(TGS) etc., too situated in this industrial belt, situated in Seraikela-Kharsawan. There are 20 industries, which export its products to the USA, Australia and other European countries.