Bravo Buddha! Great Going, A Little More
Posted : February 18, 2006 at 4:45 pm [IST]
My Calcutta stay this time has been a revelation. I am seeing new changes all around Calcutta coming fast enough, though still slower in comparison with Delhi, more rightly Noida, but significant to come to notice of every one who will like to see.
From Purnendu Chatterji to Prasoon Mukherji, or from Haldia to Uluberia, changes are obvious. A new Bengal is in making. On February 17, daily newspaper ‘Telegraph’ had a thick book on the real estates coming up around Kolkata. It is just impressive. I didn’t find any specials like that anytime from newspapers in Delhi or Noida. It is all the initiative of ‘Brave Buddha’. He has changed the poor perception of Bengal among the investing class in his favour.
After getting the first private infotech university-Dhirubhai Ambani University of Information Technology and Communications at Kalyani, (the place made famous by Dr. BC Roy for arranging congress session many years ago) from Anil Ambani, he has persuaded Tata to set up a Cancer Hospital, whose foundation will soon be laid by Ratan Tata.
And his, by now, famous initiative to bring in Salim Groups of Indonesia has got now a concrete shape after the foundation stones are laid. (However, some skeptical tries to caution me about my over enthusiasm, to them these may be election related functions and may be campaigns.) But Buddha and his party will win the election and that he should, as the other party doesn’t have a better candidate as CM of the state. Benny Santaso, Salim Group chief was himself here and was the star attraction at those foundation-laying functions. It covers three projects. Buddha had to push through a Mahabharat in his party on land acquisition from the farmers, which leftists oppose.
Mahabharat Motors will be a plant of two wheelers at Uluberia built by Benny Santaso, at cost of Rs 1,000 crore employing 500 people producing 5,00,000 units per annum. Uluberia was the railway station that I frequently had to pass through while going and coming from IIT, Kharagpur (1957-61) from Birlapur where my grandfather lived. I don’t know why Uluberia became the preferred location. But I also couldn’t understand the reporters repeatedly talking of the plant using machinery from Faridabad and Ghaziabad. I don’t know how strong the Indonesian are in manufacturing and particularly product offerings.
Sudha Ras, a food park and another landmark of the area at invest of Rs 18 crore is all ready. Ultimately, it shall employ 1,200-1,800 people in food processing units.
Calcutta West International City located across Vidyasagar setu will be a new city with iconic Brandenburg Gate-style entrance with dancing horses and will have 6,900 houses of world-class standard across 390 acres.
Buddhadeb’s government has approved the Batanagar Rs-1, 500 crore ultra-modern township inclusive of a golf course to come up, allowing conversion of 282 acres of industrial land for real estate development. That opens avenues for the use of surplus or blocked industrial land across Bengal. Perhaps, my old company HM will also take advantage of the policy.
Durgapur, already the second most important city, is another center of attraction in growth plans of Bengal. An integrated health and knowledge city, complete with a 500-bed hospital, the medical college, dental and paramedical colleges teaching subjects such as radiology, physiotherapy and laboratory technologies, management institutes and a mini-township with school, housing complexes, a mall and stadiums of its own will come up by 2013 at a place very near to Durgapur.
It seems Buddha is in real hurry and is going for drastic improvement that changes the perception about investment friendliness of a state. His cabinet has agreed and is working on cutting down the time required to acquire land from 36 months to six and a half months. This is something that other states including the center may emulate. Most difficult problem for NHAI in GQ project has been the acquisition delays.
Are you still not convinced of his fast moves? Buddha has not only assured autonomy for Presidency College denied by his minister of higher education, but he has also managed to send the entire 5-member team of his education ministers packing from the coming assembly polls to remove his hurdles obstructing reforms in education system of the state.
Bravo Buddha! I only wish you could mend the militant union workers and the way they behave. It damages the relationship between senior managers and workmen. It affects the quality of output and services. And without that, Bengal can’t get back its glorious past of manufacturing sector.
Again, Buddha! You will have to reduce the criminalisation and polticalisation of educational institutes such as, BE (College and now perhaps) University and JU; and alienation of teaching community from politics. Let your party spare education from politics. Beside the transformation of Presidency College into an institute of excellence, University Science College must also move ahead to become IISc of Calcutta.
It requires some hard decisions, unpleasant and unpopular too, but it is necessary in the interest of the state.
- Indra
Category: Indian politics |
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