In his first interview since the police firing on farmers at Nandigram last week, state Commerce and Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said the government would take industrialisation forward politically and administratively. "Industrialisation must go on and it will be a two-way battle," he said.
"We believe a majority of people want industrialisation and that's why the opponents never say they are opposed to industrialisation as a concept. The reason behind this (Nandigram violence) episode is completely political... their main aim is to destroy the congenial atmosphere that we had created," he said.
He said his government would go on an overdrive to tell people that it was imperative to take pressure off agriculture through non-agricultural activities. It would also work out a comprehensive rehabilitation package for the people who were displaced by industrial projects.
"That will be the administrative step. We will tell investors that every project will have a rehabilitation package. We have done that in the Tata Motors' project (in Singur) as well," said Sen.
Emphasising that the state would go beyond compensating people, Sen said, "They (the people) will be rehabilitated."
The state had investment proposals of around Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion) over the next five years, Sen said, adding that the total land required for these projects would be 1 lakh acre of the 1.35
crore acre of total land.
"Of this, agricultural land would be 50,000 acres," he said, as land vested with the government amounts to only 23,000 acres, most of which is scattered.
"We will have to acquire land for projects. There is competition from other states and investors will not wait," said Sen.
However, he allayed fears that investors were worried. "They understand, it's happening everywhere," Sen said, although admitting that there was a slowdown in the process.
"We had conceived a comprehensive plan with the (Salim Group's) chemical hub (at Nandigram) and PCPIR (petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals industrial region in Haldia), but that has been delayed," said Sen.
Earlier, State Home Secretary PR Roy said shifting of police forces stationed around Nandigram were to be completed today; the police camp at Sonachura was to be shifted to Bhangaberia, while the camp at Adhikarypara was to be moved to Tekhali.
Following pressure by the CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc, the Left Front had on Saturday decided that police would be withdrawn from Nandigram in phases.
The state government had also ordered an inquiry by a divisional commissioner-level officer to ascertain if outsiders were involved in the firing on Wednesday last week, he said.
Meanwhile, a CBI team member said none of those arrested so far belonged to Nandigram.
