Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to seek cooperation from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in implementing the 1,839-km-long Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor during his two-day visit to the state starting
May 9.
Modi will attend a function of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority on May 9 and will flag off commercial production of the expanded IISCO unit on May 10, where Banerjee is expected to be present.
PMO sources told FE that since Banerjee has sought the Centre’s help in reviving the state’s economic health, Modi will ask the state to help in implementing the Amritsar-Kolkata corridor as West Bengal would be the third biggest beneficiary after Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand from the project.
The industrial corridor, which would come up along the alignment of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, can optimise the economic and employment potential of the region as well as stimulate investments, particularly in manufacturing, agro-processing, services and export oriented units. The corridor will also leverage the highway system that exits on the route and National Waterways 1, which is being developed between Haldia and Allahabad.
Of the six states through which the corridor will run, West Bengal will get a coverage of more than 170 km, while it would be 88 km in Punjab, 72 km in Haryana and 93 km in Bihar. However Uttar Pradesh will get the maximum part of the corridor covering 1,049 km followed by Jharkhand covering 367 km.
But the main hurdle to the project has come with the opposition resisting clearance of the land ordinance.
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