West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday announced the scrapping of Tajpur in the coastal East Midnapore district as the venue for the state's new deep-sea port project. He said Dadanpatrabar, a new coastal hub in the same district, just 10 kilometres from Tajpur, had been identified as the new destination.
According to him, the reason for scrapping Tajpur as the venue for the deep-sea port project, planned by the previous Mamata Banerjee-led government, was the lack of sufficient vested land there. “The huge plot of land required for the project is not available with the state government at Tajpur.
That is why Dadanpatrabar, just 10 kilometres from Tajpur in the same district, has been identified for the project. The necessary 1,700 acres of vested land required for the project are there at Dadanpatrabar,” said the Chief Minister while speaking to media persons on Thursday afternoon.
He also said that although the previous government initiated dialogues with a national industry group for the project at Tajpur, the latter showed no interest due to the unavailability of adequate land there. The Chief Minister held a meeting at the state secretariat Nabanna on Thursday regarding the development of ports, coastal areas, and areas adjacent to Kolkata’s rivers.
Some specific decisions were also taken at the meeting. He said he had discussed the proposed deep-sea port project with the Union Shipping Ministry. “After all the discussions, it was concluded that setting up the deep-sea port project was not possible at Tajpur.
So, we have made an alternative plan in Dadanpatrabar, which is just 10 kilometres away. We can proceed with the project there with the available 1,700 acres of vested land. We have also spoken to the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, in this matter.
He has also given permission. We will move forward there with the project in a realistic manner,” the Chief Minister said. Speaking on the occasion, he also said that a water metro service would soon start in Kolkata. “Currently, water-metro services are available in 17 cities, and Kolkata will be the 18th city to be added to this network,” he said.
According to him, a decision had also been taken to connect West Bengal to the Sagarmala project, the flagship Central Government initiative aimed at transforming the nation’s maritime sector and driving port-led economic development. “The previous state government did not get involved with the Sagarmala-I project.
A committee was supposed to be formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister. But Sagarmala-II is starting again. We will be involved in it. We will prepare a proposal for this project. A proposal of Rs 22,700 crore will be prepared for five years.
It will include development plans for port communication systems, fishing infrastructure in the coastal areas, and development plans to eliminate the sufferings of fishermen from Sagar, Kakdwip, Namkhana, Nayachar, Khejuri, which are close to the coastal borders with neighbouring Odisha,” the Chief Minister said.
He also announced that 44 new jetties would be built. “Their approval was pending for a long time. However, recently, the government has received approval for 41 jetties. Work will start accordingly,” the Chief Minister said. He said the Union Government had also accepted the request of the state government regarding the development of Kapil Muni’s Ashram and Sagar Island in general.
“All kinds of cooperation from the Union Government will be available to transform the annual Gangasagar Mela into an international-level fair. Work related to port connectivity and construction of erosion-prevention infrastructure is also starting in Balagarh,” the Chief Minister said.