The Adani Group has purchased a closed rice-processing plant in East Burdwan, indicating that the Gujarat-based industrial conglomerate helmed by chairman and managing director Gautam Adani is increasing its Bengal footprint. A representative for Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL), a joint venture between the Adani Group and the Wilmar Group, said, “We have taken one shuttered and non-operational rice-processing factory in Burdwan.” AWL is India’s largest edible oil maker, as well as a supplier of wheat flour, rice, pulses, sugar, and packaged foods. Several rice mill proprietors have raised concerns about the arrival of a large corporation into the industry. Farmers are being threatened, according to a CPM-affiliated peasant organisation.
Multiple sources confirmed that AWL had collected information on about 20 other non-performing and closed rice-processing units in the district. They said the company planned to acquire more such units. The Adani group already has a presence in Bengal, with AWL running a large refinery for vegetable oils in Haldia. The group, India’s largest private port operator, has also forayed into Bengal’s maritime sector, taking control of a berth at the Haldia Dock Complex.
