The state government has received proposals to invest Rs 24,000 crore in north Bengal in various projects which will be realised in two years, said chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi.

He made the claim at the North Bengal Business Meet that was held here on Thursday.

State MSME & textiles department, along with the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), hosted the meet at Biswa Bangla Shilpi Haat in Kawakhali, on the outskirts of Siliguri.

Around 500 entrepreneurs took part in the conference.

“We received investment proposals of around Rs 24,000 crore at today’s meet.
Most of the projects, which have been proposed, will be completed in a year, while the rest will be executed in two years,” Dwivedi said after the meeting.

Most of the proposals were from the sectors of real estate, hospitality, healthcare, MSME, and food and horticulture, said the chief secretary.

In February last year also, a similar business conference was held here and investment proposals of Rs 10,000 crores were submitted.

Speaking at the event on Thursday, the chief secretary underscored the initiatives taken by the state government for the improvement of air connectivity in the region.

“The state government handed over 100 acres of land to the Airports Authority of India for the expansion of the Bagdogra airport. The existing infrastructure at the airport has reached a saturation point, given the surge in number of passengers over the years. We want the airport to have adequate infrastructure and have learnt that the tender process for expansion of the airport has been finalised and a work order has been issued,” said Dwivedi.

He touched on a plan to expand the Hasimara airport in Alipurduar district. “A private company has to be compensated as around 40 acres of land will be acquired for the expansion. This has also been sorted out,” said the chief secretary.

The government, he said, is working for the extension of the runway of the Cooch Behar airport and soon, a joint survey for Malda and Balurghat aerodromes will be conducted.

In the course of the meet, representatives of trade bodies from different districts of north Bengal interacted with government officials and pointed out that certain critical gaps, which delay investments, needed to be sorted out.

In reply, Dwivedi said the state MSME & textiles department had been asked to open an online portal of the district-level monitoring cell.

“It will expedite the process of granting approvals and carrying out stipulated formalities,” said the senior bureaucrat

Training institute

The Mamata Banerjee government, which has announced tourism as an industry and will soon adopt a policy for it, will set up a hotel management training institute in Kalimpong.

Dwivedi said the proposed institute would come up on the premises of a craft institute which is spread over 20 acres at the hill town.

“A proposal has been sent to the Centre for necessary approval. It will be a public-private partnership project,” he said.