In 2006, the Left Front won the Assembly elections in West Bengal on the basis of its pro-industrialisation campaign led by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. In 2009, Bhattacharjee has tweaked the plank for the coming general elections to “jobs for all,” especially in the wake of the debacles in Singur and Nandigram, where protests led to the shifting of two big industrial projects.
“We need to rise above the fights between the Opposition and the government and strive to create jobs. We will have to create jobs for all, even for those who are mediocre,” Bhattacharjee said while addressing a gathering at the inauguration of Jai Balaji Industries’ alloy and stainless steel division at Durgapur. Job creation has become Bhattacharjee’s poll plank for the general elections after his efforts to industrialise the state received a major blow with the exit of Tata Motors from Singur. Led by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, the farmers’ agitations drove the company to shift its small car project from the state.
Bhattacharjee, talking about the Opposition, said some people were even opposing the proposed Petroleum, Chemicals, and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) project at Nayachar. “Do they even know what the project is about? They are opposing for the sake of it. IOC’s will be the mother plant at Nayachar and the whole project will create jobs for one lakh people,” he said.
The message of Bhattacharjee was loud and clear — despite Singur and Nandigram (the original site for the PCPIR), there was no going back on the industrialisation drive. Over the past week, Bhattacharjee has announced a spate of investments, including the Rs-3,425 crore Shyam Steel’s investment at Purulia and the Rs-6,000 crore light rail transit (LRT) system project.
The Rs 225-crore Jai Balaji’s alloy and stainless steel unit and Rs-275 crore Ramsarup’s wire plant were announced at Durgapur today. The Rs 4,500-crore East West Metro Corridor would be announced tomorrow.
The LRT and East West Metro Corridor projects are under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
Bhattacharjee said West Bengal had shown progress in agriculture, but there was too much pressure on the sector. “We have not been able to eradicate poverty, but rural income has increased. We need the manufacturing sector to create jobs. We need steel, cement and petrochemical industries in our state,” he added.
