The Indian Foundry Association (IFA) on Saturday urged the West Bengal Government to remove bottlenecks for its proposed foundry park, nearly 20 km west of Kolkata in Howrah district.

The foundry park is slated to come up on 900 acres of land. While the State Government has acquired 77 acres of land so far, IFA has purchased another 500 acres directly from farmers.

“We are awaiting clearances that include lease deeds from the State Government,” Pawan Sureka, Chairman of IFA said while addressing the 61st annual general meeting of the IFA here. A lease deed is required in case organisations or companies acquire more land than permitted.

According to Sureka, nearly 50 members have expressed their willingness to relocate their facilities . In its first phase, the foundry park is expected to generate nearly one lakh tonnes of cast iron products a year, he added.

“With an estimated investment of Rs 2,000 crore, the park is slated to be functional by the end of 2013,” he said.

Outlook

With the consumption of cast iron products being largely restricted to drainage and sanitary facilities, Sureka said that introduction of new technologies to reduce pollution will help the foundry industry grow.

India is the second largest producer of cast iron after China with a capacity to generate eight million tonnes a year.

According to him, per capita consumption of cast iron is expected to grow substantially.

> ayan.pramanik@thehindu.co.in

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