Nayachar: Cong backs Buddha’s choice

With Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee going against CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat’s line to support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...

With Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee going against CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat’s line to support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the need for nuclear power, the Congress here made its first public statement backing the CM’s choice of Nayachar for a chemical hub.

The Congress had attended the all-party meeting on September 3 in which Bhattacharjee had proposed the riverine island as part of the chemical hub after a bloody opposition derailed operations in Nandigram—the original choice.

“Nayachar will be the ideal place for a chemical hub. The Congress will not oppose it if Nayachar can get the necessary clearance from the GSI and environment departments,” said Pradip Bhattacharjee, working president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee.

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The Congress had so far remained silent on Nayachar. Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, which had opposed the chemical hub and the choice of Nandigram on land acquisition issues, had boycotted the all-party meeting.

Meanwhile, the state Government has asked the Geological Survey of India to submit a report about the viability of Nayachar, a 38-sq km island off the industrial port town of Haldia. The commerce and industries department is waiting for the report.