More than 6,000 acres in West Bengal will now be a click away for potential investors.
All land parcels under different industry development bodies — West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC), and West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation (WBSIDC) — would be brought under a common allotment method and have the same regulation and utilisation policy.
This was disclosed by WBIDC chairman Rajiva Sinha at Business Conclave and Synergie, organised in association with Ficci, on Monday. Sinha pointed out that all land parcels for industry would now be called industrial parks. “Now, under WBIDC, it is an industrial park but under WBIIDC it is a growth centre while under WBSIDC, it is called industrial estate,” he said.
According to Sinha, lease conditions and product line change would all become uniform. “Land availability will be in one click, including the rate,” he said.
He also pointed out that rate valuation was going on in some parks. He admitted a backlog as far as land was concerned and said it would work on that. “There is delay in mutation and land conversion, which we shall now take care of,” he said.
Sinha further told industrialists present at the meeting about regularizing units in vested land. Incidentally, the industry development bodies have land in Purulia, Bankura, Burdwan, East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia and Kolkata, and North Bengal. The biggest chunk of land is in Raghunathpur, Purulia of about 3,100 acres.
The state budget presented by CM Mamata Banerjee earlier this week unveiled special industrial corridors being planned from Dankuni to Asansol via Burdwan-Durgapur on one side, and Barjora-Bankura to Raghunathpur in Purulia district on the other side.
The first industrial township in the state would be built on 2,483 acres of WBIDC land in Raghunathpur.
Sinha also assured industry about online trade licence. “It is already available. Only in grampanchayat, there is a problem. But we have already introduced this in 100-150 grampanchayats. Others too will be trained for this,” he said.
Besides Sinha, MSME secretary Rajesh Pandey, industry secretary Vandana Yadav and Ficci eastern region chairman Rudra Chatterjee were present at the meeting. Pandey said the Bengal incentive scheme had been extended for another five years and 66 services had been brought under Shilpa Saathi.
