MP seeks PM's help for return of BHEL land

Bhopal, Aug 26: The Madhya Pradesh government today urged the Centre to impress upon BHEL to return the surplus land of its project the or utilise it by setting up a second project (BHEL-II).

State Industry Minister Babulal Gaur told mediapersons here today that he would soon meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention in the matter. Union ministers belonging to Madhya Pradesh had assured full support to the proposal, he said.

Mr Gaur said the state government would provide certain exemptions, including granting proprietary rights to BHEL for the land being retained by it, if the PSU surrendered the surplus land.

At present, he said, BHEL is paying crores of rupees as property tax, even for the surplus land. Thus, the surplus land is becoming a huge recurring liability without any returns. BHEL, at one stage, had also indicated its willingness to give up the surplus land if the Centre agreed.

Mr Gaur said the state government proposed to develop the surplus land, measuring about 2,500 acres, into a new industrial estate to set up some of its pending projects.

He today held telephonic discussion with Union Minister of State for Heavy Industry Santosh Mohan Deb and requested an early settlement of the issue.

According to official sources, the proposal was delayed due to the Left parties' stand opposing disinvestment of profit-earning public enterprises like BHEL.

To a question, Mr Gaur said since the Centre had shelved the BHEL disinvestment move, the Centre should be able to take a ''favourable'' decision.

Besides the state government projects, he said, the land could be utilised for setting up major industrial units in the private sector to generate employment for the jobless in the state.

As regards the demand for second BHEL project in Bhopal, Mr Gaur said Madhya Pradesh had been ignored in the allotment of heavy industrial projects by the Centre. Except for BHEL and Bhilai Steel Plant, which are now in Chhattisgarh, and ongoing Bina Refinery, no big project had been approved by the Centre for the state, which still remained an industrially backward.

UNI