Durgapur and the Industrial Saga of Bengal - I

The perception of industry and infrastructure varies from person and without aiming to start a debate with someone, I would like to present some bare facts about the industrial scenario of my city  the grassroot-level situation prevailing currently, and what it should ideally have been.

Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the Second Chief Minister of West Bengal, one of the most illuminated minds of the country till date, had a clear vision about Bengal's future and an understanding of Bengal's need of the hour 𑁋 development of  heavy industry in the State to promote all-round development through massive employment generation, and therefore overall upgradation of the lifestyle of the people.

At that time, Bengal had few cities as such 𑁋 Kolkata, Jalpaiguri and Bardhaman happened to be the only mentionable names. He envisioned the need of creation of  new cities (what we call nowadays as Greenfield Cities). With expert advice from Indian as well as foreign brains, Bidhan Roy's dream-cities of Durgapur, Kalyani, Bidhannagar, Ashokenagar and Habra came up.

Durgapur primarily centred around the Durgapur Steel Plant (inaugurated in 1955), its enormous township and sporadic development of villages nearby. In January,1965 the Alloy Steels Plant started production and the developmental saga of Durgapur started seeing a new thread of investments 𑁋 the subsequent development of Bharat Ophthalmic Glass Limited (BOGL), Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited (HFCL), Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation (MAMC) and a range of medium and small enterprises, supported by as well as supporting the existing units.

The easy availability of resources as well as a cosmopolitan workforce (which ensures less unity among workers) had made Durgapur a hot-spot for industrialists. But the Freight Equalisation Policy of the Government of India ( passed in 1947 ), which became applicable for all freight in 1971, nullified the positional advantage of Durgapur (and Bengal,Orissa and Jharkhand at large).

Then came the good-days of Bengali 'babus' and the black days for industry in 1977. The political setup, the socio-economic scenario, the interlocking threads of industry and feudalism (which helped industrialists to buy land at the cheapest rates from feuds in the rural areas of Bengal) were shattered by waves of Communism. Looking from one perspective, it could have been a bright moment for industry in Bengal as huge chunks of land passed onto the hands of the State. But the situation was otherwise. Ultra-leftist leaders in Jyoti Basu's Government had no intention to promote industry in the State. Rather they incited the gullible youth to raise slogans, pause work with regular demands, walk-out of factories etc., which destroyed the work-culture of Bengalis altogether. Moreover, English was removed from being a compulsory subject upto middle-school, and Bengal produced thousands of graduates every year who, in spite of being extra-ordinarily talented, lagged behind in industry-employability for the sole reason of their poor articulacy in English. The Cabinet of  Jyoti Basu knew it very well that if industries grew, the masses would get employment; and once good packets started filling up the treasuries at everyone's home, no one (especially in case lethargic Bengalis) would bother to be party-workers 𑁋 their leadership could have been put to a challenge. And this attitude itself distinguishes the Communist Governments in China and Russia (where they had tried their best to promote industry in State's regime) and the "so-called Communist" Government under Jyoti Basu.

At last, in the year 2000, Bengal again started hoping for industrial development with Buddhadeb Bhattacharya coming in as the Chief Minister. He realised the need for infrastructural development and English learning, as well as technical education in Bengal, as a precursor to industrial development ( and admitted frankly that removal of English from primary education by his predecessors was a Historical Mistake). New State Highways were constructed and existing ones upgraded. The administration bet hard to grip hold of the work-culture. A "Brand Buddha" was created, which enthused youth of Bengal, especially from rural and semi-urban areas to take admission into the newly inaugurated Industrial Training Institutes set up by Government of West Bengal in collaboration with private-sector partners.

 The situation under him improved considerably, with several multinational giants envincing interest in investing in Bengal. The Salim Group of Indonesia expressed intentions of developing a Special Economic Zone with investment promise of Rs.20,000 crores at Nandigram. Also, German retail giant Metro Cash And Carry started constructing a 1,00,000 square-feet outlet in Kolkata𑁋 Bengal's first worth-noting shopping mall. Reliance Retail (Dhirubhai Ambani Group) also promised huge investments in Bengal. Cals Refineries in Haldia, Shyam Group's Steel Plant near Durgapur were some other bulky industries which aimed to come in. Lastly, TATA group was roped in by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya for its flagship project of world's cheapest car, the Nano at Singur, on Durgapur Expressway section of the National Highway 2.

THE RUNWAY OF DREAMS

                    In an investment-starved Bengal, when the Andal Airport project was conceived by the Left Government in 2006-2007, hardly had anyone imagined in his or her sweetest of the sweet dreams that Durgapur could afford to have an Airport (and that too not a civil enclave or an aerodrome but a fully operational ultra-modern Airport) in the next 10 years from then. But hopes started building up when in mid-2008, the land acquisition process for the Rs 10000 crore project began.

                      SUJALAAM THE SKYCITY project, of which the Airport is a part is spread over 2300 acres of land (650 acres for the Airport itself) from 11 mouzas of Andal Block, and hence the name Andal Airport. However I personally hesitate to use this misnomer, owing to the sentiments of the residents of the eight villages------- Amlauka,Arati,Patsaora, Banguri,Tamla, Khandra, Dakshin Khanda and Mahira------ most of whom wilfully and happily sold their lands at nominal rates for the success of the project. So, they deserve the bountiful thanks from the admirers and profiteers of the project.

Being a native of the village of Ichapur (just about 2 kilometers away from the Airport) and my family having a token investment in the SkyCity, I have noted the developments of the project in close quarters.


                          Land was acquired in two slots--- one of 1820 acres and remaining in next slot. Though initially minor resistances were faced from some villagers(mostly instigated by political parties and land-brokers), the authorities managed to buy land at approximately Rs.7.5 lakh to Rs.10 lakh per acre and compensation upto 6 cottahs of land (along with indirect job offers, free cycles and several other advantages under BAPL's  Corporate Social Responsibility scheme, Sevanjali). So far I am aware of, there was not much foul play in the land-acquisition process as we had seen in Singur.
Within November 2010, a major portion of the land was acquired and the project was set to take wings. But then came in another hindrance ---- the high-tension power transmission lines and towers which ran across the Airport and runway. BAPL required another 70 acres of non-contiguous land at Laudoha and Andal Gram to shift the towers. The contract for building the airport infrastructure was awarded to Simplex Infrastructures.


                              Meanwhile the State's political regime changed wrists with the TMC Government, led by Mamata Banerjee, coming to power. Under orders from State Government, local administration intervened and the deadlock was resolved by shifting the 96 transmission towers. BAPL roped in Larsen And Toubro Limited (L&T) for the task and later L&T was handed over the charge of infrastructure development of the entire Aerocity, including the Industrial Skypark, residential projects, NH2 approach road.


                               In 2014, another round of BJP-backed protests was encountered from the villagers who were now greedy to make a larger pile as compensation for the land that was already sold. But the administration handled the situation very skilfully with "velvet gloves on iron hands".
Moreover, Mamata Banerjee's personal charisma and the promise of 2 small planes' flights between Kolkata-Ranchi and Kolkata-Patna via Andal airport helped waive off the crisis.
Amidst a lot of buzz, the 2800m long RUNWAY OF OUR DREAMS was rolled out. On 24 th April, after receiving recommendation from State Government, DGCA ultimately gave a green signal to the Andal Airport (renamed to be KAZI NAZRUL ISLAM AIRPORT, Durgapur) by granting Operational Clearance to BAPL.


                                  In this article, I have not laid much stress on the stakeholders of BAPL and such other issues which are not of much concern to the commoners unless corporate issues are to be addressed.

Public Transport in Durgapur---- a massive change

Over the past 10 years, I have found that the greatest dissatisfaction among the residents of Durgapur is regarding the public transport system, its ineffiency and the lack of lifeline in the city after 10 o'clock at night.
As such, I have suggested a few improvements. Please go through the following suggestions and feel free to come up with new ideas; simply comment or send me an email- jadavpuranirban@hotmail.com


SUGGESTED BUS-TERMINI at:-

1) Muchipara( beside Guest House

2) Fuljhore More(for Mini-buses only)

3) Nadiha

4) Sujalaam SkyCity

5) Golf Nagar


Some new bus routes can be as follows:-

AC ROUTES

A1  -- Durgapur Railway Station to Andal Airport ( Via DVC More, City Centre, Gandhi More, NH2, Andal More, Airport approach road)


A2  -- Durgapur Railway Station to Trunk Road More (via Rail Flyover, Sagarbhanga, FCI Gate, DDA Market, Bank Colony More, Hudco More, SD Hospital, Steel Park More, Bhagat Singh More, Ambedkar Sarani, DurgapurCinema, Junction Mall, NIT, Women's College, Nehru Park, Zoom School, Trunk Road More)


NON-AC ROUTES


L1  -- Muchipara to Main-Hospital (via BankColony More, SSB Sarani, Zakir Hussain Avenue, Nehru Road, Fuljhore, Bhagat Singh More, Chitralaya, Tilak Road, JM Sengupta Road)


L2  -- IQ City to Durgapur Rail Station via Government College, Steel Park, Bamunara More, Mission Hospital, 1500 More, Bank Colony More, Pump House More, Martin Luther King Road, Indo-American More, ABL factory gate, Sanjiv Sarani, SB More, Rail Flyover)



MINIBUS ROUTES (operated in PPP Model)


M1  -- City Centre to Malandighi Sanaka Hospital (via DVC More, Muchipara Island, GT Road, Shibpur Road)


M2  -- Fuljhore More to Jemua via BC Roy College


M3  -- Molandighi to Durgapur Station (via Shibpur Road, NSHM, Bamunara, Mission Hospital, Steel Park, SD Hospital,ABL Gate, Sanjiv Sarani, Rail Flyover)

Renovating the busiest roads of Durgapur

(1)  Footpath to be made of coloured cement/flyash tiles (applicable for dividers also).

(2)  Reflectors (glow signs) to be fitted at intervals of 1 metre along the edges of the footpath and dividers for guiding drivers at night.( unlike the conventional method of embedding these into the road, due to which they frequently get damaged, a smart idea will be to fix them with the concrete of footpath and dividers).

(3)  Replace the traffic sign-boards(already planted) from the footpaths to the dividers.

(4)  Painting of footpath edges  and divider edges with long-lasting, weather resistant white and black (or blue paint).

(5)  Provisions for low-cost lighting of footpaths (better if solar panels are employed).

(6)  High-tower based floodlights at all prominent junctions/ intersection points.

(7)  Renovation of the existing bus stops(passenger sheds) and construction of new ones (on a P.P.P Model). 

(8)   Monetization of these public properties with advertising will greatly help in their maintenance.

Revenue generation for faster development

In order to bring about a massive infrastructural development in Durgapur, one of the toughest hurdles will be to set up an efficient revenue generation model to meet the funds for capital expenditure.
This, in simple words, incorporates:-

i) Increasing the annual income of the D.M.C. from revenue collected.

ii) Restructuring expenditure policies.

iii) Conducting more workshops for students as well as common people, organising music concerts,dramas and fairs.( the income prospects from these events are very good).

iv) Inspiring generous  citizens to donate for the city's development.

v) Strictness in imposing fines and collecting parking and toll taxes.

vi) Cooperating with the Central and State Governments in the process of successful implementation of their projects in Durgapur( such as A.M.R.U.T).

vii) Requesting Central Government for more financial grants and ensuring that the grants are entirely utilised fruitfully( no money is sent back).


 This is an extensive process and requires several important aspects ( mainly the proposed adverse effects versus the profit) to be taken care of before implementation.
Now, let us consider briefly the policies which may be adopted to earn surplus revenue:-

1. First and foremost, A.D.D.A and D.M.C. should invite private sector companies to invest in Durgapur and ensure easy lease- granting of land to them. The holding tax thereby collected will be appreciably high.

2. Increase holding tax slightly for residential properties. Although this will not significantly hurt the sentiments of the residents, it will be greatly profitable for the municipal corporation.

3. Legislation and enforcement of rules and regulations for holding taxes so that the taxes for each property( along with interest) are compulsory deposited within three years. Defaulters' properties should thereafter be sealed without prior notice.

4. Increasing the number of street-side advertisements( hoarding boards) and at the same time, imposing a hike in advertising rates.

5. All printed and painted advertisement signboards on public property, such as streetlight poles, should be forcefully charged.(Also the owners of the ad-posters on the walls of bus- stands must be summoned and imposed with heavy fines).

6. Making exclusive parking zones at Bidhan Nagar, City Centre, Durgapur Railway Station and other important places in a Public Private Partnership model. The toll-points in the city have to be upgraded to proper Toll-plazas with electronic central monitoring system to reduce chances of corruption.

7. Holding rigorous discussions with educated residents, engineering and management students and faculty members  to bring out smart plans so as to reduce expenditure in projects.

8. Elevate Drinking Water Cess to a slight extent.

Lastly, it is worth- mentioning the necessity of a separate DURGAPUR DEVELOPMENT FUND so that the municipal corporation can meet immediate expenses without the need to get aid from the State or Central Government.

Smart fuels for a Clean Durgapur

I hope many of you are familiar with the concept of using methanol as a fuel ⛽ in racing cars.
A more economically as well as ecologically sustainable alternative is the use of ethanol, denatured with 5 to 7% methanol to run buses.
Durgapur can start up with this idea and I am sure it will be very profitable in the public transport sector. Even New Delhi is planning to implement this plan in the coming years.
A cheaper fuel would be biogas in place of the fossil-based CNG. Biogas has methane as its main constituent and hence can replace CNG if it can be properly tapped and its octane rating can be increased. In Durgapur, biodegradable waste material can be obtained in abundance and hence setting up a number of large and small scale biogas plants at different parts of the city can greatly help to make auto and bus service cheaper. Biogas pumps have to be setup for this purpose. Funds can be raised from the voluntary donations of citizens, CSR of various companies and the fuel-stations can be operated in a Public Private Partnership Model, a model which I believe, can solve all infrastructural and operational difficulties faced by both the Government and Private Sector Companies.

Oh ho... so much wastes

              In 2008, Durgapur ranked 1st in India for solid waste management. At that time, a waste-to-energy conversion plant had been operational ( at Arrah, near Bidhan Nagar), which converted biodegradable solid wastes to energy. 

              Unfortunately, the company ceased operations at the plant after a few years on the ground that D.M.C. could not supply adequate wastes everyday as had been mentioned in the agreement. As such, in recent years, tackling of the solid wastes has raised the eyebrows of the municipal authorities, much to the dissatisfaction of the residents of Durgapur. 

              To meet the people's demand as well as to ensure a smarter, cleaner future, the waste-handling plant must be restarted and rejuvenated in a Public Private Partnership model ( may be with the same or a different company). As far as the question of non-biodegradable wastes go, a very effective solution is the concept of plastic roads( as I have already stated in one of my previous blogs). Another solution is R.D.F.( refuse derived fuel)-- applicable for non-recyclable plastics.

             Not only Vats but also a large number of garbage-bins must be placed along important streets of Durgapur (in the footpaths) at regular intervals (say, quarter a kilometre in crowded places) under the Swachch Bharat Mission of the Central Government. The foochkawallahs and other street-hawkers as well as shopkeepers must be strictly instructed to swipe off the garbage from around their stalls and throw them into the dustbins. Heavy fines should be levied on them otherwise. Civic volunteers should be entrusted with such duties.

              Moreover, as already proposed by DMC, Plasma Technology for Waste to Energy will have to be used regularly.

               Only then can we dream of a SMART CITY.