The West Bengal government, grappling with the absence of industry sentiment, on Monday said that it has identified nine lakh acre for a land bank which would be created for setting up industries.
"The government has identified nine lakh acres for land bank to be used for industrial development of the state", West Bengal commerce and industries minister Partha Chatterjee told an interactive session organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce (BNCCI) here on Monday.
The announcement comes roughly a month and a half after PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed by the state government to come up with a study on the available land bank, which could be used for industry.
Incidentally, the nine-month old government run by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been promising that it would come up with a land bank to be allocated to industry.
On Monday, the minister assured the gathering that land was not an issue for setting up industries in the West Bengal.
He further said that entrepreneurs holding excess land above the ceiling limit should disclose the information to the government.
"There are many individuals who are holding land above the ceiling, but not disclosing it. It is creating problem for the government", he said.
In the last nine months, the minister said, 84 proposals valued at more than Rs 65,000 crore were received by the government.
He urged the industry to go to far flung areas for setting up units and avail fiscal incentives. The state industry department in collaboration with the Centre would set up a jute research hub in Coochbehar, he added.
