The interaction between the new West Bengal government and industry chiefs will hopefully be the first of many more to come (“Mamata talks tough at India Inc meet,” June 19). Some of the steps proposed in the meeting should be implemented as fast as possible. And efforts should be made to address the infrastructural inadequacy and lack of work culture in the state.
The most immediate problem for the government will be land acquisition for industrial purposes. Its present stand of not acquiring land from any unwilling land-owner is, in a way, extreme and will make it virtually impossible to build new factories, roads, ports, power plants and so on. It is already difficult to find large tracts of land that are not protected by forest, tribal, wetland or farming laws. Without large-scale industrialisation, the state runs the risk of promoting smaller units that are more polluting and substandard in terms of technology. This is already visible in the Asansol-Durgapur belt. There is no doubt that fertile land should only be acquired as the last resort and farmers must get a fair deal for their land. However, the government must not lose sight of long-term goals and benefits, even if it calls for making a few sacrifices in the short run.
P Datta, Kolkata
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