Bhattacharjee said he briefed the Prime Minister on the steel plant to be established by the Jindal group in Salboni. He said the PM had accepted his invitation to lay the foundation stone of the project in January.

Two new steel plants, he said, were coming up at Purulia and Bardhaman, a biotech park was being established by IIT, Kharagpur, in collaboration with the University of Berkeley. He also briefed the Prime Minister on the progress of the establishment of a deep-sea port in the state. Shipping Minister T R Baalu would be visiting Kolkata soon to discuss the project. He said the situation in Nandigram was “fast returning to normal” and most of those who had been evicted had already returned.

A total of Rs 1 crore had so far been spent by his government for their rehabilitation, including reconstruction and repair of damaged houses, roads, bridges as also supply of clothing, utensils and fertiliser mini-kits for farmers to sow the rabi crop, he said. Bhattacharjee said a senior officer had been sent to the Nandigram area to prepare a report on what kind of development projects could be implemented there. “As soon as we get this report, I will announce the projects.”