Nayachar
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Nayachar নয়াচর |
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|---|---|
| Island | |
 Nayachar
 Nayachar
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| Coordinates: 22°02′N 88°04′E / 22.03°N 88.06°ECoordinates: 22°02′N 88°04′E / 22.03°N 88.06°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | Purba Medinipur |
| Area | |
| • Total | 64 km2 (25 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 2,500 |
| • Density | 39/km2 (100/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Website | wb |
Nayachar is an island in the Hooghly River, off Haldia in Purba Medinipur in the Indian state of West Bengal. The island inhabited by few fishermen, has shot into the larger public view as the proposed site of the major chemical hub initiated by the erstwhile Left Front alliance led West Bengal Government. The hub was earlier proposed at Nandigram. Following the West Bengal State Assembly Election in 2011, the All India Trinamool Congress and Indian National Congress coalition under Mamata Banerjee led new West Bengal Government announced on 19 August 2011 that this project will be scrapped.
The Bengali word char means a strip of sandy land rising out of the bed of a river or the sea above water-level. Naya means new.
In December 1987, then land and land reforms minister Benoy Chowdhury had ordered the island handed over to the fisheries department. The order was carried out in March 1988. Benfish, the official agency of the fisheries department, undertook its development. The island was renamed Meendwip, meaning fish island, but nothing much seems to have happened.
In government files, the island is "uninhabited" although there are around 2,500 people living on the island, mostly as "encroachers". Seven years ago 13 fishery cooperatives were set up, 315 ponds were dug and many of the 400 families on the island work in these. The rest catch fish on their own, either in the river or in small ditches that fill up with small fish during high tide. The government or fisheries department never gave them any right to the land or ponds. They were only allowed to fish around. Some 200 fishermen arrive every morning on the ferry service, work in the co-operatives and leave in the evening. In 2007, the fisheries department has even ended the contracts with the cooperatives.
The state Fisheries Department has demanded Rs 220 million from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) for winding up its project at Nayachar, as it has to repay a loan it had taken from Government of India for the purpose.
The Government of India introduced the concept of chemical hubs, calling them Mega-Chemical Industrial Estates (MCIES) in 2005, but a year later enlarged it and introduced the concept of Petroleum, Chemicals ad Petrochemicals Investment region (PCPIRs). A PCPIR was defined as a specifically delineated investment region with an area of around 250 km² planned for the establishment of manufacturing facilities for domestic and export led production in petroleum, chemicals. Out of this around 40 percent of the total region was expected to have the hub. It is expected Haldia-Nayachar would attract total investment of Rs. 440 billion.
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Wikipedia