Expert panel in Nayachar to test suitability of project

This was made clear by Subir Raha, chairman of the committee which visited Nayachar for the first time today after it was constituted by the state government last November.

The PCCL, anchor developer of the chemical hub, is a joint venture, in which WBIDC under the state government has 49 per cent share and NKID, a business conglomerate which has the Indonesian Salim Group as a partner, has 51 per cent share.

The state government has already handed over the land to the company.

“The chief minister has given us a job of advising him on whether the chemical hub can be set up here,” Raha told The Indian Express.

“We will basically judge three things: the techno-economic feasibility of the project and the kind of impact it will have on the environment. In our report we will make it clear whether the project is feasible here or not.”

Apart from inspecting the area, the committee collected water samples. The committee has already tested soil samples collected earlier.

The other members are optimistic of the possibility of having the project there.

“Of the 81 sq km area of the island, 31 sq km is stable and solid we need only 25 sq km for the industries. The land is about five metres above sea level and we can build a guard wall along the coastal line,” said Anandadeb Mukhopadhyay, member of the committee and head of the school of oceanographic studies.

Raha said one advantage of setting up the project here is that it has almost zero pollution and if all measures are taken, there will not be much worry of environmental degradation.

People are also expressing concerns about natural calamities like tsunamis, he said. Some areas are cyclone-prone and some places do have cyclones accidentally. “We will examine 16 to 17 aspects including geological, oceanographical, meteorological and environmental aspects and only after that we take a decision,” said Raha, who is a former chairman of ONGC.

West Bengal, along with Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, has applied to have the status of petroleum, chemicals, and petrochemicals investment region to be conferred on Haldia.

Nayachar lies 4 kms across the river Haldi flowing beside Haldia.

The state government is planning to build a bridge across the Haldi, connecting Haldia and Nayachar.