Improvement in strained relations between Chatterjee and West Bengal Government

12-Nov-07

After a cordial meeting at the Bijaya festival, the strained relationship between the two major promoters of Haldia Petrochemicals - Purnendu Chatterjee of the TCG and the West Bengal Government seems to be taking a turn for the better. After Purnendu Chatterjee stepped into Writers' Buildings on Bijaya, the West Bengal chief minister has publicly acknowledged the pivotal role played by The Chatterjee Group chairman in setting up HPL. Industry observers could not recall any other public acknowledgement by the chief minister of Chatterjee's role as one of the first to bring foreign direct investment to the state. Over the past two years, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and TCG have been locked in a legal battle for the control of Bengal's second-largest and now profit-making company, HPL. A last-ditch fight is now on in the Supreme Court. A patch-up seems possible only if TCG withdraws the case or both the parties agree to an out-of-court settlement.