Archive · 2 Oct 2026
Reliance proposes Bengal nuclear plant with ₹2 lakh crore investment
Reliance Industries wants to build a large nuclear power plant in Bengal.
Officials estimate it could bring about ₹2 lakh crore in investment over six or seven years.
The company prefers Haripur, a coastal area where an earlier nuclear project was cancelled.
That earlier project faced protests from fishermen and villagers.
The state government has suggested Nayachar near Haldia as another possible site.
Reliance also wants to build hotels in several parts of Bengal.
It plans to develop part of a data centre in New Town within three months.
The company has also shown interest in turning difficult-to-mine coal into useful gas.
The proposals are still under discussion with the state government.
Reliance Industries proposed a nuclear power plant in Bengal during meetings with state officials.
The proposed plant could attract about ₹2 lakh crore over six to seven years.
Reliance prefers Haripur, where a previous 1,000MW NPCIL project was cancelled in 2011.
The state has suggested Nayachar near Haldia as an alternative because of earlier local resistance.
Reliance also proposed hotels, an AI-enabled data centre and coal-gasification investments in Bengal.
- Who
- Reliance Industries, West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, chief secretary Manoj Agarwal and other state officials.
- What
- Reliance proposed a nuclear power plant along with hotel, data-centre and coal-gasification projects.
- When
- The proposals were discussed on Wednesday; the nuclear investment is projected over six to seven years.
- Where
- The preferred nuclear site is Haripur near Contai in East Midnapore, with Nayachar near Haldia suggested as an alternative.
- Why
- The proposals could bring major investment, while the state is also considering earlier local resistance to a nuclear project at Haripur.
Haripur proponents
Alternative-site and local-concern perspective
Choice of nuclear site
Haripur proponents
Reliance Industries is keen on Haripur, where a 2,000-acre plot had already undergone surveys and received earlier approval-related preparation for a nuclear project.
Alternative-site and local-concern perspective
The state government has proposed Nayachar near Haldia instead, taking into account resistance from fishermen and villagers who opposed the earlier Haripur project.
Economic benefits versus local concerns
Haripur proponents
State officials described the nuclear plant as the most significant proposal because it could attract about ₹2 lakh crore and create a major investment opportunity.
Alternative-site and local-concern perspective
Residents of about 50 villages previously joined protests over concerns about threats to farming and fishing, and the earlier project was cancelled in 2011.
- Estimated nuclear investment
- About ₹2 lakh crore
- Estimated investment period
- Six to seven years
- Preferred nuclear site
- Haripur, a coastal village near Contai in East Midnapore
- Alternative site
- Nayachar near Haldia
- Earlier project
- NPCIL had proposed a 1,000MW nuclear plant at Haripur
- Data-centre deadline
- Reliance said work on 15 of the allotted 40 acres in New Town could be completed within three months
- Planned data centre
- A state-of-the-art, AI-enabled facility, with full work targeted for completion by June next year