Bengal buzz over Ambani mega plans

If the entry of Tatas for setting up an automobile factory was the ultimate gift to Buddhadeb Bhatacharjee’s splendid election victory, there is more in store.

If the entry of Tatas for setting up an automobile factory was the ultimate gift to Buddhadeb Bhatacharjee’s splendid election victory, there is more in store.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, arrives in Kolkata on his first official visit to the state on Wednesday. He will hold meetings with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhatacharjee and other senior government officials. The buzz is that he is coming with a host of investment proposals that might range from a special economic zone and a chemicals hub to a state-wide retail centres for agro-based products.

A senior bureaucrat said: ‘‘The visit is pregnant with immense possibilities but it is up to the Reliance chairman to spell out the actual proposals tomorrow.’’

The state government, obviously, is trying to keep the meeting between Ambani and Bhattacharjee on a low key to ensure that there is no disappointment.

Ambani has already met the leadership of the CPM in Delhi in the run-up to Wednesday’s meeting. The chief secretary, Amit Kiron Deb, said that Reliance representatives met government officials on Monday with proposals for setting up retail chains in agro-based products across the state. For this, Reliance sought a total of 10,000 acres and the initial proposal contained 80 such retail trading centres to be opened in the rural sector.

The retail centres would procure farm products from the villages and market them in urban areas after proper packaging and preservation. The retail chain will be connected with the whole country.

Apart from the retail trading centres, all the Bengal districts will have supermarkets for sale of these agro products as well as FMCG and garments, which is part of Reliance’s pan-India retail plan.

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Asked if the discussions with Mukesh Ambani would go beyond the retail business and encompass the proposed chemical hub in Haldia and a SEZ, Deb said: ‘‘It all depends on what Mr Ambani proposes tomorrow. The state government is keen to hear from Mr Ambani about what he wants to do.’’

Commerce and Industries Minister Nirupam Sen, who will be attending the meeting tomorrow, said: ‘‘The retail chain that the Ambanis have already proposed envisages an investment of about Rs 4,000 crore.’’

Asked if the government would like to push for Reliance’s involvement in the chemical hub project in Haldia that the state has already planned to set up with the Centre’s nod, Sen said: ‘‘It is better we first listen to what Mr Ambani has to say.’’

On Tuesday, there was a flurry of meetings, with the chief minister himself holding several rounds of discussions with his senior bureaucrats during the day.

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Ambani and Bhattacharjee are to have a one-on-one meeting for some time before the commerce and industries minister joins them. After this, the stage would be set according to Ambani’s requirements, with heads of departments like land and land reforms, industry, agriculture, agriculture marketing, food processing and power asked to keep all relevant data ready.