2 min readKolkataMay 20, 2015 04:46 AM IST
First published on: May 20, 2015 at 04:46 AM IST
With the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal celebrating its fourth anniversary on Wednesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to spring a surprise — she will award industrialist Sanjiv Goenka with the government’s highest award, Banga Bibhusan.
Mamata has carefully chosen one of the oldest business families of Kolkata for this honour and that too, at a time when the state is facing industrial stagnation. Goenka, whose family had migrated to Kolkata in the 1820s from Rajasthan, will be the first industrialist to receive the award in Mamata’s regime.
A top chronicler of industry in Kolkata said the Goenkas had withstood tough times and did not desert the city like many of their peers — an episode popularly known as the “flight of capital from Kolkata”.
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Goenka is currently the chairman of RP Sanjiv Goenka Group of Companies with an asset base of over Rs 25,000 crore and having interests in power, retail, carbon black, IT and ITes services, music and entertainment. The company reportedly employs over 50,000 in India and another 4,000 in Ireland.
While a formal announcement about the award will be made by Mamata at a cultural show on Wednesday, in a personal letter sent to Goenka, she has said: “You are one of the brightest stars in the world of industry and commerce in the country. Your skills in expanding business are known to everyone. All of us share with you the glory of your overall contribution to the world of industry.”
The Sanjiv Goenka Group is currently investing about Rs 3,000 crore for a new power plant in Haldia.
Contacted by The Indian Express, Goenka said: “I am humbled by this honour.”
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