Date:23/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/23/stories/2008012355981300.htm

National

Buddhadeb for caution on industrialisation

Staff Reporter

“We must take people into confidence,” he says
State for consolidating success in agriculture

KOLKATA: West Bengal has to “cautiously” move ahead in its drive towards industrialisation, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Tuesday.

“Nandigram is an exception…we have no problem in acquiring land elsewhere in the State,” he said, adding that the State government had successfully acquired land for industries in Coochbehar, Howrah, Malda and Hooghly districts, among several others.

“But we learnt something from Nandigram…that we must take people into confidence before we proceed.”

“The Nandigram chapter is closed,” he said, speaking at the 107th Annual General Meeting of the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, on the theme of ‘West Bengal: A Prime Investment Destination.’ Referring to the strident anti-land acquisition stance of the Opposition parties, Mr. Bhattacharjee said: “I cannot accept it.”

“The Opposition is asking us to stop and not move any further… for them this is the end of history, the end of development,” he said. Instead of boycotting meetings, the Opposition ought to participate in discussions for a consensus and working out compensation packages.

“We have to come up with rehabilitation packages for every important industrial and infrastructure project in the State…which cannot be the same everywhere,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.

Lauding the recently launched Tata Nano as a “unique product,” he said the State government had already received proposals from other automobile houses willing to invest there.