The state government will hold 11% stake in JSW Bengal Steel Ltd via West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) and the Jindals 89%. The project is scheduled to begin commercial production in 2011. Mapping of the land and soil testing have been done, fencing will begin in September.

The idea of offering equity shares is also part of the relief and rehab policy that’s being finalised by the Centre. A section of the CPM, mainly agrarian leaders, argued that this would help landlosers identify themselves with the project.

In Nandigram, the government had to drop plans to acquire 10,000 acres for a special economic zone when a three-month battle ended in bloodshed with the death of 14 farmers in police firing on March 14. In Singur, the government acquired 997 acres from over 3,700 landholders, with around 12,000 cheques being distributed.