Date:23/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/23/stories/2007112362091400.htm

National

Industry leaders back Buddhadeb

Special Correspondent

Kolkata: A day after the Army was called in to quell mob violence in the city, industry leaders renewed their support to the State leadership, expressing confidence in the economic future of West Bengal. “We will back Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,” they said.

Speaking to The Hindu, captains of industry and senior office-bearers of the chambers of commerce said that the State government had shown resolve to tackle matters efficiently and West Bengal’s investment climate would not be impacted by these sporadic incidents. However, alongside they also appealed to every section of society to act responsibly so that the State’s progress was not blocked.

Many felt that these disruptions were basically resistance to the changes that the West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was trying to usher into the State. “Human beings mostly want status quo. And these are basically resistance to change,” they said.

They said that industry groups which had an inherent faith in the leadership would dig their heels in, but fence-sitters who were still in the stage of weighing their options on parking their investments, may just start looking up other States.

Many also wondered whether there was a game plan behind the string of incidents aimed mainly at derailing the State’s industrialisation drive. They stressed on the need to neutralise the present spate of disturbances through a political process.

According to Sanjiv Goenka, vice-chairman of the RPG group and former president of the CII, the diversified group would not only implement their Rs.12,000-crore investment plan in the State with the “same vigour,” (including a Rs.9000 Mw power plant at Haldia) but would also advise fellow industrialists to follow suit. “The State has done very well under the Left rule and we have confidence in West Bengal’s economic future,” he said.

T.K. Mukherjee, managing director of Phoenix Yule Ltd., an Indo-German joint venture said that there should be no knee-jerk reactions from the industry to such events and the German company which holds a majority share in PYL, has recently pumped in Rs.25 crore to set up a steel chord conveyor line at their unit in Kalyani in Nadia district. “Our German parent company is not worried,” he said.

According to Biswadip Gupta of JSW Bengal whose company is investing Rs.35,000 crore for setting up a steel unit in Salboni in West Midnapore district, the group’s investments “remain on track.”

Steel sector investments at Rs.90,000 crore account for the single largest industry segment in the State’s current industrialisation drive.

While calling for restoration of normality, Mr. Gupta, who is the present eastern region chairman of the CII, said his company would lay the foundation stone early next year.

At least two international seminars with participation from the U.K., Australia among other countries took off in the city on Thursday indicating the international business community’s confidence in the State’s investment climate.