To send the right signals to the industry post-Singur Bill, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has called a meeting with top industrialists this weekend.
The state government-initiated Industrial Conclave is likely to see Bengal Inc attending in large numbers. Industry department officials said though state finance and industry departments together contacted quite a number of industrialists from outside West Bengal for the meeting, there has been no confirmation as yet.
Sources said the official invitation had been extended from state finance minister Amit Mitra and industry minister Partha Chatterjee. But Chatterjee personally called up ADAG chairman Anil Ambani, JSW vice-chairman and managing director Sajjan Jindal and Videocon Industries chairman Venugopal Dhoot.
While Anil Ambani said he would meet Mamata Banerjee sometime later, Jindal and Dhoot have not committed any meeting as yet. But Chatterjee earlier said Ambani had expressed interest to invest in the state in different sectors and had sought a meeting with Banerjee.
Ambani had earlier met the then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for setting up the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City in the state but that didn’t fructify. Jindal has already committed a R35,000-crore investment in the state to set up a 10 million tonne steel plant, while Dhoot will invest R15,000 crore to set up a 3 mt steel plant and 1,200 Mw power plant.
But both the projects are locked in political and land disputes, respectively.
The new government is eager to push through proposed investments, for which the industry department is in touch with the offices of Jindal and Dhoot, industry department sources said.
The industry conclave is likely to be attended by CESC vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka, Bengal Ambuja chairman Harsh Neotia, Titagarh Wagon Ltd chairman JP Chowdhury, Emami chairman RS Agarwal, Jai Balaji chairman and managing director Aditya Jajodia, Bengal Unitech chairman Prasoon Mukherjee, HPL managing director Partha Bhattacharyya, Patton International managing director Sanjay Budhia, Shyam Steel chairman SS Beriwala and others.
Ruia Group chairman Pawan Ruia’s office is not sure whether he will be able to attend since he is out of the country. Presidents and secretaries of all the Kolkata-based chambers have been invited to the conclave, officials said.