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Singur is critical, says Jairam Ramesh

Special Correspondent

Kolkata: Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jairam Ramesh said that while the Singur project was critical for West Bengal, Nandigram could wait.

The Minister, who met Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the State Secretariat, told reporters at the Tea Board later that the issue of Nandigram and SEZs was discussed and he felt that things could have been handled differently.

He said the Singur project had to be put on fast track since it was a project which would have a multiplier effect on the entire region. On whether governments should acquire land for projects for the private sector, Mr. Ramesh said that normally this should not be the case and industries should acquire land at market rates and the government's role should be to ensure that these rates were being paid.

He noted that "land-hungry States" such as West Bengal and Kerala, which were also agriculture-intensive, would face problems in acquiring land for industry. However, "West Bengal needs manufacturing industry as well as a revival of its engineering industry."

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