PS gets 50 acres for SEZ, needs 200 more

The PS group, a real estate developing company which plans to build a service sector SEZ at Rajarhat, has completed acquiring 50 acres for the proposed project.

The SEZ will need a total of 250 acres. Half its area will be for the retail sector, said Pradip Chopra, managing director, PS group on the sidelines of a seminar here. The company hoped to acquire the balance 200 acres within the next six months, after which it would approach the West Bengal government for a SEZ notification. "I don't think there should be any problem in acquiring land as most of the land is barren," he said.

Chopra said apart from IT and ITES firms, many foreign colleges and hospitals, which would cater to the outbound medical tourists, had shown interest in setting up units at the SEZ. Chopra said, "If 1 acre of agriculture land can create job for 8 to 9 people, an IT SEZ can employ about 1,000 people in the same area." Farming provided 65 per cent of the employment but contributed only 20 per cent to GDP. "A farmers's son is no longer interested in the job. Industry can provide him a job without migration, at his own place," he said.