The West Bengal government has approved a Rs 600-crore cement project in Raghunathpur by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Cement that was awaiting clearance since 2011, reflecting the urgency shown by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to bring big business to Bengal. The government has also allotted the 100 acres of land the project needs. The CM had, in fact, taken the approval letter with her when she went to Mumbai to meet industry leaders last week, ready to hand it to the younger Ambani or any senior Reliance Cement official.

ADAG chief Anil didn’t turn up at the meeting that turned out to be Mamata’s most successful industry initiative yet, thanks to the presence of his elder brother and Reliance Industries chief Mukesh. The government, however, expects younger Ambani to kickstart the project soon. The Commerce and Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee said that government was waiting for them (Anil or his company officials) at the industry meet in Mumbai. The CM was planning to hand over allotment letters to them at the summit, he added.

Set up in 2007, Reliance Cement – a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure – produces fly-ash based Portland Pozzolona cement. The company had submitted its letter of intent for the cement plant to the government in November 2011. The project, Reliance Cement’s third plant, will have a capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per annum – 1.75 mtpa for Portland Pozolona cement and 1.75 mtpa for Portland Slag cement. The company already has two projects in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

After the appraisal memo for the project was submitted in January 2012, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation earmarked 100 acres for the project.