The Mamata Banerjee government has made the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) responsible for providing information about plots available on industrial parks and estates across the state in a bid to make land scouting easier for potential investors.
According to the plan, any potential investor — irrespective of the sector or the size — will have to visit the WBIDC office on Camac Street in Calcutta and he/she will be offered information on all available industrial plots.
As of now, three agencies — WBIDC, WBIIDC (West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) and WBSIDC (West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation) — have land in their possession for allotment to investors.
“If an investor needs a plot in Nadia, he does not know which of the agencies has plots there. It is not possible for an investor to knock on the doors of all the three agencies to zero in on the right plot for his or her project. The government is trying to make land scouting easier for investors,” said a senior government official.
Once an investor selects a plot after visiting the WBIDC office, it would have to take steps to ensure that the required land is allotted, said an official.
If the selected land is possessed by any other agency, the WBIDC would send the requisition on behalf of the investor to the agency (WBIIDC or WBSIDC) concerned and it would make the allotment.
The investor does not need to run from one agency to another to get the land, explained the official.
Sources said that after compiling information on industrial plots possessed by the three agencies, it was found that there was enough land available in the state.
According to the available figures, the state has a total of 1,411 acres on industrial parks or developed industrial estates, in addition to 27 lakh sqft space, for small and medium investors.
Similarly, 4,630 acres are available for large industries and 4.5 lakh sqft space and 141 acres on 14 IT parks across the state.
An official said there was a propaganda that the state did not have land for industries, which the figures contradict.
“Perhaps, investors did not get a clear picture about the land available for them,” said an official.
The sources said the government was eager to get some investment proposals in next two three months as they could be taken up as a major campaign item by the ruling party ahead of the Assembly polls.
While the decision to make land scouting easier for industry is a welcome step, said a city-based industrialist, investment would not necessarily depend on availability of land. “Suddenly, the political environment in Bengal is getting violent and there is a buzz that it will become more volatile as the elections approach. Investors are generally disinclined to put in their money under such circumstances,” said a source.
Besides, he said, several states offer incentives to attract investments and it affects Bengal’s development.
“Over the past few years, the industries in the state are not getting any incentives from the WBIDC. Earlier, the agency used to have an equity participation in projects, which has also been stopped in recent years. As an industrial promotional agency, it has to reorient its focus to achieve the desired goals,” said another source.
