| Amid a nationwide hue and cry over land acquisition for setting up special economic zones (SEZ), West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today announced scrapping of the proposed chemicals hub in Nandigram. The Orissa government, too, has decided to drop the proposed SEZ at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district. |
| Incidentally, both the SEZs had led to protests against acquisition of farm land that culminated in a number of deaths in police firing. |
| Bhattacharjee, owning responsibility for the "lapses" of his government that led to police firing on those protesting against acquisition of land for the project, said his government had decided to relocate the chemicals hub and was waiting for the Centre's communication before announcing the new place within seven days. State Industry Secretary Sabyasachi Sen said the project might come up at Haldia now. |
| "I own up responsibility for the lapses in Nandigram on behalf of the state government. I don't want any more deaths," he said. |
| Stating that violence over land acquisition and the "Opposition's role" had earned the state a bad name, Bhattacharjee regretted the Nandigram people's "unwillingness" to allow the setting up of the chemicals hub which, he claimed, could have changed the economy of the area. |
| Asking people to shun violence, the chief minister said there should be no bloodbath for the sake of industry. "We want development and industrialisation of the state on the basis of our success in agriculture," he said, urging the Opposition to uphold the state's interest by supporting industrialisation. |
| Reacting sharply, Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee demanded the resignation of the chief minister. "If anyone indulges in killing and says sorry, can that person be excused? If he has really owned up responsibility and has some respect for democracy, he should step down," she demanded at a meeting here. |
| Announcing the scrapping of the Kalinga Nagar SEZ, Orissa Industries Minister Biswabhusan Harichandan informed the Assembly that an SEZ spread over 250 acres for metallurgy-based engineering and downstream industries at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district had been dropped "for the time being". |
| Harichandan, however, did not reveal the reason for this. The Kalinga Nagar SEZ had hit national headlines after the police firing on January 2 last year killed 13 people who were opposing the acquisition of land for the zone. |
| "The proposed SEZ area that is temporarily dropped is part of the Kalinga Nagar industrial complex," said an official in the industries department. |
Top Section
Explore Business Standard