An entrepreneur based in Siliguri alleged on Friday that a construction materials-supply syndicate backed by Trinamul has not allowed him to start work on building an industrial unit in Darjeeling’s Phansidewa for a month now to arm twist him into buying materials from them at bloated rates.

Nimit Mundhra, the investor, has plans to open a dairy and confectionary products factory at the food park in Leusipakhri. He has three other units elsewhere in the country.

“Almost a month has passed now and I have not been able to start construction. These people have been to my place and threatened me. They want me to buy the materials (sand, boulders and pebbles) from them. They said they would not let any other supplier provide materials at the park,” said Mundhra.

According to him, around Rs 3.50 crore would be invested for the construction of the factory.

“I had sought quotations from these people. When I compared their rates with the other quotations, I found that they were charging around 40 per cent higher. It is not possible to meet their demand as it would escalate the project cost,” Mundhra said.

The syndicate — Rahamu Md Box Food Park Material Supplier Welfare Association — is also collecting a “ parking fee” of Rs 50 from every truck that enters the food park, he alleged.

Representatives of the North Bengal Industries Association, who have filed a complaint with the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) that owns the park, have alleged that the syndicate is backed by some local Trinamul leaders.

“The syndicate is backed by Trinamul…. Ainul Haque, a block-level Trinamul leader in Phansidewa, had asked the investor to negotiate with the syndicate and resolve the problem. It is unfortunate that such syndicates are deterring industries at a time when the chief minister is insisting on private investments and speaking about the ease of doing business in Bengal,” said Surajit Paul, general secretary of the association.

Haque, the block Trinamul president of Phansidewa and a member of the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, said: “None from the party is associated with the welfare association of construction material suppliers. We have made it clear that they should not charge higher rates…. But if they are ready to supply at normal rates, the investor can negotiate with them and start work. Our party does not support any act of intimidation.”

Sourav Chakraborty, the SJDA chairman, said: “I have asked the chief executive officer to visit the place and speak to the police to prevent highhandedness by any construction materials supplier. We always encourage private entrepreneurs and will not let anybody jeopardise the investment plans of any investor. All necessary steps will be taken so that the investor can start construction work at the food park.”