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Global tender for Bengal leather effluent treatment

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, Sept. 14

THE global tender for the common effluent treatment plant (CETP) for the leather complex coming up here will be floated on Saturday (Sept. 15).

Industry sources said that as per the schedule given by the West Bengal Government to the Supreme Court, the tender papers would be available from October 1, 2001 and the bid would be sealed on November 5.

However, what is worrying tanners, who are to be relocated to the complex away from city limits, is that the BOT party implementing the project has said that the project cost, now pegged at around Rs 350 crore, would increase by at least Rs 50 crore beca use of the CETP, which now envisages a Rs 16-crore expenditure on a transportation system that would need to be set up for carrying the effluents to the CETP.

``We fear that the cost of the CETP projected at Rs 22.8 crore along with the cost of the four chrome recovery units will place an additional burden of nearly Rs 770 per acre on the tanners who have already blocked substantial capital by paying the cost of the land (at Rs 600 per acre as fixed by the Supreme Court).

So far five of the eight zones on the 1,100-acre complex have been allotted to 231 tanners who are now located in the Tangra, Tiljala and Pagladanga area on the eastern fringe of the city. There were 560 units in these areas, out of whom 531 have paid t he necessary instalments to acquire the land at the complex. The project is being implemented by M L Dalmiya Construction Company which was appointed as the BOT party by the West Bengal government. The first lot of land was handed over in January this ye ar.

The BOT party which is yet to be handed over the entire land by the State Government has told the apex court that zones six, seven and eight would be handed over to the allottees by October 31, 2001.