Suvendu Adhikari announces proposed DRDO project at Bengal's Junput

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Friday that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the premium agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence, is all set to set up a mega project in the state.

Speaking to media persons, the Chief Minister added that Junput in his native East Midnapore district had been identified as the venue for the DRDO project.

However, Chief Minister Adhikari refused to divulge further details of the project.

"All I can say right now is that a mega DRDO project is coming up at Junput soon. I will speak in detail in the matter at a later stage," the Chief Minister said at the sidelines of the inauguration of the outlet of a clothing store chain at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

During the previous Left Front and Trinamool Congress governments, mega investment proposals in East Midnapore district could not be fructified because of the politically backed local opposition.

During the late Budhhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front government, the proposed nuclear power project could not be fructified because of the local resistance, which was orchestrated by Trinamool Congress, as the then principal opposition party in the state.

Again in 2024, during the Trinamool Congress government, an ongoing DRDO project at Junput had to be stopped midway because of the combined opposition from Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress -- the Trinamool Congress' trade union wing, and an association of the local fishermen.

Meanwhile, speaking at the inauguration of the clothing store, CM Adhikari also said that although the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government is keen about attracting big ticket investments for improving the state's economy as well as to ensure higher employment generation, the backgrounds of the interested investors will be checked first before they are allowed to make investments in the state.

"We will undergo a background credibility check of the interest investors, specially whether they had in prior involvement in money laundering activities and whether there are pending cases registered by the central investigating agencies against them. The bank guarantee factor will also be checked," the Chief Minister added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IANS

[email protected]