Thursday, October 20 2005 19:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacherjee today (Oct 20, 2005) indicated that his Government would go ahead with only the motorcycle project of Indonesia's Salim group and go so slow on other controversial ones.

This was a clear hint that the Left Front would not rush through with controversial projects considering the fallout in the next assembly elections.

Left Front chairman Biman Bose who briefed newsmen after the meeting, at which the Chief Minister gave the indication, said it would take some time to prepare the project report.

The move, observers said, was aimed at preventing the Salim issue from reaching a flashpoint where the opposition could derive mileage in the Assembly Elections next year.

A leader of a major Left Front constituent who did not want to be named and attended the meeting told PTI that the chief minister clarified that the state Government would act on other projects of Salim group only after progress on detailed project reports.

The land for the proposed two-wheeler plant of the Salim group has been identified at Uluberia in Howrah district adjoining the metropolis.

Apart from the two-wheeler manufacturing plant, the Salim group would construct a health city and industrial township, and a four-lane Barasat-Kukrahati highway.

The Chief Minister told the meeting that no project report had yet been prepared on these.

A congenial atmosphere had been created for industrialisation in the state, he said and industrialists were coming forward for investment.

He said the state government was committed to preserve the achievements made in agriculture and judicious balance would be maintained between agriculture and industries.

Bose, a top state Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) leader said on other projects, Front partners would prepare a special agenda after which discussions would be held.

He said the Front also laid down principles to be followed for handing over land for industrialisation and urbanisation programmes.

"Only fallow land and land on which cultivation is not possible will be given for industries and development programmes. There may however be some exceptions," he said.

He said the Chief Minister also announced that the now defunct Land Use Board would be reactivated.

Front partners; Communist Party of India (CPI), Republican Socialist Party (RSP) and Forward Bloc have been vocal opponents of the state Government's alleged move to offer farmland to the Salim Group.