The plight of West Bengal's drive to attract industry is reflected in the Jindal Salboni project. The initial talk was of an investment of about Rs 35,000 crore and 4,300 acres for an integrated steel plant. Now the proposal is for a cement plant and captive power requiring Rs 2,700 crore.
The fresh employment expected to be generated by the plant is insignificant. Sure, there are talks of a 1,000-Mw power plant and an unbelievably high capital cost. The Jindals have offered to return the land, now in excess of what they need.
This is something the Tatas would never have done. The Trinamool Congress government is simply copying the way its predecessor, the Left Front, tried to bring industry into the state and failed. This is evident from the fate of Haldia Petrochemicals.
West Bengal does not have iron ore; hence, steel-making is capital-intensive and land-intensive, it causes pollution and fresh and direct jobs are low in number. The expectation of a spin-off benefit is misplaced. All the states that have had steel plants as their basic industry -Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal - remain poor. Even if the current government in West Bengal gives land for free, no mega integrated steel plant can come up, given the current price of steel.
The state has to think of a more intelligent way of maximising returns on its limited land, money and managerial resources. This must include improving farm yields and profitability, irrigation, organic farming, crop diversification, agro marketing, medium-scale industry, service industry and better roads, education and health services.
P Datta, Kolkata
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