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When West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra invited top bankers at the recent state industry meet in Mumbai, it was not without a reason.
The West Bengal government has been head over heals for nearly last two years in luring financial institutions to set up facilities in the proposed financial hub, located at Rajarhat in the fringes of Kolkata.
In fact, the state government has already requested the Union finance Minister to sanction three new banking licenses for banks setting up their head quarters in the area, according to the notice by the West Bengal government for inviting expression of interest for leasing out land in the project
The second phase of bidding process for getting land in the financial hub has now been extended till 9th October.
The earlier deadline was in April, but bankers had requested the government to extend the deadline due to the busy season ahead of financial year closure.
In the first phase, the government has received proposals from eight financial agencies, covering17 acres of land.
The institutions that plan to set up offices in the area include, State Bank of India, United Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, UCO Bank, IDFC and Calcutta Stock Exchange, among others.
However, compared to the grandiose plans of the government- which include setting up twin towers called the World Trade Centre and enabling range of IT services like data warehousing, disaster recovery, back-office and IT BPO centres —the pace of development of the financial hub is rather slow.
The government expects to attract investment worth Rs 16,000 crores through the financial hub.
It was in March 2012, that the government had launched the project, but more than a year after the government is still stuck garnering expression of interest.
In the first round of bidding process, the three Kolkata-based banks and Calcutta Stock Exchange, constituted nearly half of the applications.
The government also plans to set up convention centre along with eleven hotels with a minimum capacity of 2,000 rooms in the area.
According to information at the WBHIDCO website, the government has already spent Rs 2000 crore on infrastructure for development of a self sustainable township in Rajarhat.
Over the next five years, the government intends to spend Rs 5400 crore for further development of the area.
The offer price of the land plots in the financial hub has been kept atRs 13 crores per acre, as one time lease premium. This apart, the annual rent is has been fixed at the rate of 0.25 per cent on the lease premium.
