The standing committee of the West Bengal cabinet has approved five acres of land in the New Town area for the second campus of IIM-Joka.

According to state finance minister Amit Mitra on Monday, the cabinet also gave its nod for granting 14 acres land to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for a state-of-the-art cricket facility at Dumurjala Sports City in Howrah district, he said at the secretriat here.

Mitra said the Cabinet on Monday also okayed a private freight terminal on a 36.5 acre plot to utilise the proposed Amritsar-New Delhi Dankuni corridor. “This is a big move. We expect that once this private freight terminal comes up, more and more investors will come to build other freight terminals,” Mitra said.

Mitra said that the Centre has also given its approval for an industrial centre on the freight corridor which will be built on 2,666 acres of land in Raghunathpur. “The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Limited has 800 acres of land to build a state-run industrial park. Once the freight terminal becomes operational this land will be utilised for the purpose,” Mitra said.

The state cabinet also approved a hike in the annual scholarship for students of class V, VI and VII of government schools, government-aided and mardrasas, from Rs 750 to Rs 800, state MoS (health) Chandrima Bhattacharyya said.

Under the scheme, students were getting Rs 800 after they were promoted to Class VIII. “Now, there will be no difference. Students of class V to VIII of government-run, government-aided, government-sponsored schools will get Rs 800,” Bhattacharya said. Sikshashree Scholarship Scheme is for the day scholar students of Class V to VIII belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe category.