Kolkata, Sep 11 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said his government is working to bring a defence project to Junput in Purba Medinipur district.
The previous TMC government did not respond to a communication from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) regarding the project, he claimed.
“It is regarding a defence project in Junput. DRDO had earlier sent a letter to the previous state government regarding the project, but it had not received any response. We have responded to that letter,” Adhikari said on Friday, without elaborating.
The DRDO has been working on plans to establish a test centre at Junput as an additional operational area for the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in neighbouring Odisha, which has been witnessing a high volume of weapon testing activity.
The Defence Ministry, in a reply to the Rajya Sabha in August 2024, said land acquisition for the DRDO test centre had been completed after obtaining all necessary clearances and that construction of hard-standing and roads had also been completed.
It said that before testing activities, the population within a one-km radius would be evacuated to ensure the safety of local communities, with due compensation and safe shelter provided to them.
“Due to local unrest, the work has been temporarily stopped,” the ministry had said, adding that the site was useful for testing missiles of “very high importance”.
The chief minister, however, did not specify whether his government’s response to the DRDO’s earlier communication would lead to the resumption of work at the Junput test centre or involve any changes to the original proposal. PTI BSM NN
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