The Bengal government will ask industrialists holding on to unused land to start work on building the proposed factories immediately or return the plots to the administration, chief secretary Manoj Agarwal said in Haldia on
Wednesday.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, several ministers and Agarwal were in Haldia to inaugurate a ₹6,000-crore phenol and acetone manufacturing plant of Haldia
Petrochemicals’ subsidiary Adperma.
“The industrial land that have not been used yet should be surrendered, or work should start immediately for the purpose the plots were given. The state cabinet has decided to take back unused industrial plots, and these will be given to those who have good projects that will generate more jobs,” the chief secretary said.
A source said: “There is a scarcity of land in the state. It has been seen in the past that investors secure land from the government and leave the plots unattended for years. This does not augur well for any state that is seeking investments badly. The new government is trying to tackle the practice from the very beginning.”
Usually, when a land parcel is leased out to investors, a clause is included in the agreement that says the plot will be taken back if it is not used for the purpose for which it has been allotted.
The previous Trinamool government had tried to take back unused industrial land, but could not make much progress.
“The TMC government had in 2018 asked investors who had failed to start projects within three years of land allotment to renew the lease for another three years by submitting fresh proposals. But nothing was done thereafter,” a bureaucrat said.
If the new government remains firm on its stand of reclaiming unused land, it could unlock more than 20,000 acres, sources said.
“A survey during TMC rule by a private company found that about 20,000 acres of land given to private companies to set up industrial units were lying unused. The scenario has hardly changed in the past few years,” said a retired bureaucrat.
Chief secretary Agarwal said the new government was trying to bring back the state’s industrial glory. “The state was at the top in the 1920s or 1930s in terms of industrial output.... The new government is trying to bring back the lost glory of the state,” he said.
“A proper airport will soon be made operational at Kalaikunda, and a new ropeway will be constructed between Kurseong and Darjeeling. New hospitals will be set up, and the deep sea port in East Midnapore will take shape within the next four to five years,” Agarwal said.
Suvendu spoke about the government’s focus on industrialisation and job creation. “We should work towards making the state self-reliant. So far, we were dependent on doles only. We have to get rid of the vicious circle,” the chief minister said.
Suvendu said the state’s industrial incentive policy would be unveiled before Diwali.
The Telegraph reported last week that the Bengal government was on the verge of unveiling an industrial policy that would link incentives to the number of jobs a unit can create.