refuses to issue licence

Kolkata, Apr 18 (UNI) Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries has sent a fresh letter to West Bengal state Marketing Board softening its terms on the much hyped Rs 2,000 crore agro-retail project in Bengal.

However, the Marketing Board is not ready to give licence to the company even as RIL said in the letter that it was willing to scale down the number of collection centres from the proposed 86 to 15. RIL has also assured the board of no contract farming.

In the recent letter, RIL has also mentioned that it would go by the procurement price set by the Board and only set up town centres.

West Bengal State Marketing Board, an autonomous agency, under the Agricultural Marketing Ministry, chairman Naren Chatterjee told UNI today that the board would not give licence to any company, including Reliance. ''We cannot allow any company to control the agri market,'' he said alleging that the retail business in agricultural products would create monopoly for a particular company and wipe out small traders from the market.

The Board had refused to hold talks with the Reliance officials and asked them to give a 'written prayer' on April 16. Left Front partner Forward Bloc has also opposed the proposal vehmently.

The Reliance Fresh stores, which represent the front-end of Reliance Industries' Rs 2,000 crore agri-retail project in the state, was announced by company Chairman Mukesh Ambani in June last year.

However, hardly any progress was made in the next nine months.

RIL sources said the company had already opened 100 such Reliance Fresh stores in other cities. It has also acquired nearly 1,600 acres in different districts for setting up the proposed Rural Business Hubs on 80 to 90 acre and small plots of 10 acre for setting up urban centres from where retail outlets would be fed.

UNI