Calcutta, Oct. 30: Resurgent Bengal is not only about setting up new industries but also reviving closed ones.

This was pointed out by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee here today at the reopening of Electrical Manufacturing Company Limited (EMC) after five-and-a-half years.

The number of such closed factories were much higher in states like Maharashtra, the chief minister said.

The list of closed units being revived seems to be getting longer with Jessop, Dunlop, Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) and now EMC getting back on their tracks.

“At a time when not only Indian investors but global ones, including American, Japanese, British, French and Chinese, are also evincing interest in investing in the state, we have not forgotten the prosperous units of the past and are trying our best to revive them and bring back employment to those rendered jobless,” Bhattacharjee said.

The chief minister also emphasised the importance of creating more manufacturing jobs in the state through the reopening of such units. IT jobs, he said, could cater only to the educated few.

EMC, owned earlier by the family of Union commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath, has three units in Bengal, at Beliaghata, Jessore Road and Agarpara, and another facility at Naini, Allahabad.

The revival package to BIFR was proposed by a group of industrialists – Sunder Lal Dunger, Aditya Bagree, Manoj Toshniwal and Ramesh Chandra Bardia. The proposal envisages jobs to 500 workers, with 300 getting direct employment.

“The quality of production is no longer the responsibility of the management but the trade unions will also have to take equal responsibility if such big engineering and manufacturing units are to be revived,” Bhattacharjee said.

While the tower works at Beliaghata and Naini as well as the casting and forging facility at Agarpara will commence operations next month, the 10 acre plot on Jessore Road is yet to be developed.