States » EastPosted at: Oct 29 2026 4:19PM


Bengal: Vedanta’s Asansol project revives industrial hopes after years of political uncertainty

By Debajyoti Chakraborty
Asansol, Oct 29 (UNI) Corporate giant Vedanta Group’s renewed bid to set up a major aluminium smelter and power plant in West Bengal has raised hopes of reviving the state’s dormant industrial belt after its earlier attempt to develop the region was stalled following a change of government in 2011.
The proposed project, with an investment of Rs 70,000 crore to Rs 80,000 crore, has gained fresh momentum after Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal's met Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna on Wednesday, with the BJP government promising support to turn the long-pending project into reality.
The project has brought the spotlight back on J K Nagar near Asansol, a site with a significant place in India’s industrial history. The area housed the country’s first aluminium factory, established in 1937 by the Aluminium Corporation of India under the JK Group of Lakshmipat Singhania.
The factory subsequently ran into financial difficulties and was nationalised before merging with Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) in 1984 as its Bidhanbag unit. BALCO was acquired by Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of the Vedanta Group, in 2001.
Vedanta had first attempted to establish a major industrial complex at Bidhanbag in 2008, when the Left Front government led by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was in power.
The company signed a memorandum of understanding for a Rs 20,000-crore project comprising an aluminium plant with a capacity of 6,500 tons and a 3,000 MW thermal power plant. It acquired around 300 acres and invested Rs 20 crore to construct a boundary wall. However, the project failed to take off following the change of government in 2011. The land remains a crucial asset as Vedanta prepares to renew its plans for the region.
Adhikari, after his meeting, told the media, “He said he has investments in seven states of the country. All the states are BJP-ruled. He didn’t invest in West Bengal because of the Trinamool Congress government. After the BJP came to power in West Bengal, he has proposed to set up a plant in Asansol.”
The proposed project, expected to generate around 10,000 direct jobs and indirect employment, will require an additional 700 to 800 acres in the vicinity, and sources said the government has assured assistance in securing land, water and coal resources, besides expediting the necessary clearances.
Veteran BJP leader and former union Minister Surenderjit Singh Ahluwalia, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Asansol, welcomed the development, saying the revival of closed industrial units had been a long-standing commitment. “It was our poll promise during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to reopen these closed factories of Asansol,” Ahluwalia told UNI.
For the proposed factory, Aluminium ore is likely to be sourced from Odisha, he said, expressing hope that the new unit would be established within four years.
The Vedanta proposal is also part of a broader plan to revive the region’s industrial base, including the Sen Raleigh Cycle Factory, Hindustan Cables at Rupnarayanpur and the BALCO unit at Bidhanbag.
The challenge now will be to translate assurances and plans into a functioning industrial complex, bringing fresh employment and economic activity to an area that has waited for decades for its factories to return to life.
UNI DC NST MCR
Tags: #Bengal: Vedanta’s Asansol project revives industrial hopes after years of political uncertainty
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