RELIANCE EYES MASSIVE NUCLEAR POWER BET IN BENGAL AS HARIPUR RETURNS TO SPOTLIGHT

October 2, 2026

Reliance Industries has proposed setting up a major nuclear power project in West Bengal, with the investment potentially reaching around ₹2 lakh crore over six to seven years. The proposal emerged during high-level meetings between the company’s senior executives and the state government, putting the long-disputed Haripur site in East Midnapore back into focus.

The proposed project would revive the possibility of nuclear power generation at Haripur, a coastal area near Contai where a Nuclear Power Corporation of India plan for a 1,000MW unit was abandoned about 15 years ago following strong opposition from local residents, particularly fishermen and farming communities.

Government officials said an approximately 2,000-acre site had previously been surveyed for the earlier nuclear project, including geological, seismic, environmental, hydrological and other assessments. Reliance is reportedly interested in using the Haripur location, although the state government has also suggested Nayachar near Haldia as an alternative site in view of the earlier resistance.

The nuclear proposal is part of a wider set of investment possibilities being discussed by Reliance in Bengal. The company is also considering hotels in Kolkata, the hills and the Sunderbans, an advanced data centre in New Town and investment in coal gasification. Work on part of the proposed New Town data-centre facility is expected to begin soon, with the full project targeted for completion by June next year.

Coal gasification has also emerged as a potential area of investment, particularly in parts of western Bengal where coal resources are available. The technology converts otherwise difficult-to-mine coal into usable gases that can serve as feedstock for fuels, chemicals and other industrial applications.

The proposed nuclear project comes as India expands its nuclear-energy ambitions and opens greater space for private-sector participation. Haripur remains among the sites that have received in-principle approval for nuclear development, although any new project would still require extensive technical, environmental, regulatory and land-related clearances.

If the Reliance proposal progresses, it could represent one of the largest prospective private investments ever associated with West Bengal’s energy sector. However, the project remains at the proposal stage, and its future will depend on feasibility assessments, regulatory approvals, site selection and the response of communities in the proposed project area.