To counter the scarcity of industrial land in Bihar, the state government is now planning to promote private industrial parks. For such investors, the state government is also willing to offer substantial subsidies.
“Bihar has the highest population density in the country,” said Industrial Development Commissioner, Naveen Verma, “and land unavailability emerged as a biggest bottleneck for the rapid industrialisation of the state. Therefore, we have to innovate.” He said, “We welcome those investors, who want to set up private industrial parks here. However, first they have to submit some strong proposals to back their initiatives. If the state government likes their proposals, then we are ready to offer subsidies up to 30-40 percent.”
The state government will help such investors in their projects, but would play no role in land dealings. “The state government is very serious about this proposal. We will help such investors in their endeavor. However, we would like to clarify that in no way state government will indulge in land deals. The investors have to do this on their own,” Verma added. Apart from subsidies, the state government will also help in developing basic infrastructure for such industrial parks. The state government is also planning to provide electricity to these parks on priority basis. During last six years, Bihar received investment proposals worth more than Rs 3 lakh crores. However, with a population density of more than 1,100 people per square km, the state government finds it difficult to vacate land. One of the officials of the industries department stated, “We have one of the best industrial policies in the country. But due to industrial land scarcity, the rate of industrialisation is still dismal. Therefore, we are now looking towards private sector. We have asked industries bodies to submit their recommendations in this regard, which we will incorporate in our industrial policy.”
