The Malda district will witness private industrial investments to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector during next six months which will generate employment for over 6,000 people, senior officials of the district administration claimed on Friday.

“We have received proposals of investment of Rs 1,168 crore in the MSME sector for Malda. These proposals are likely to be implemented in the next six months. Altogether, these units will create employment opportunities for around 6,300 people,” Nitin Singhania, the district magistrate, said today.

His assertion comes a day after the North Bengal Business Meet that was held in Siliguri on Thursday.

At the meet, around 500 entrepreneurs from across north Bengal had congregated along with officials of different districts and senior bureaucrats of the state government. After the event, H K Dwivedi, the chief secretary, had said that they have received investment proposals worth Rs 24,000 crores at the meet for the region.

Sources in Malda district administration said a synopsis of the industrial units which were set up in the current fiscal and those which would be established in next six months, was presented to the chief secretary.

In the past fiscal (2022-23), investments to the tune of Rs 641.17 crores have been made in the MSME sector in Malda. “In total, 142 industrial units have opened in the district and around 4,000 people have got jobs in these units,” said a source.

The units which have come up include starch production units, jute mills, and units making biomass briquette, stainless steel pipe and plastic products, along with hatcheries, rice and flour mills and poly-textile factories.

“We have proposals for units which will engage in the production of ethanol and allied products, carpet, plastic furniture, steel fabrication, bakery products and beverages, plywood, fish and cattle feed, cement paint and wall-putty,” said an official.

Such industrial investments will create
opportunities for the local youths as a section of them migrate to other states for jobs. From Malda, around five
lakh people serve in other states.

Time and again, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, during her visit to Malda, has underscored that the state is taking initiatives to create employment in the district so that people don’t need to move to other states to make an earning.

Jayanta Kundu, the president of Malda Chamber of Commerce, said employment generation through development of the MSME sector is a way to reduce the number of migrant workers.

“We welcome the efforts of the state government and the district administration in getting private investments here. The administration is setting up carpet clusters in the district and people are getting associated with it. Earlier, carpet weavers from here would work in other states like Uttar Pradesh and many of them lost their lives in accidents,” said Kundu.

Uzzal Saha, the president of Malda Mango Merchants' Association, said: “The geographical location of Malda is an advantage for us. The district has proper connectivity with the rest of the country and is an ideal site for industrial investments.”