KOLKATA: In a bid to woo industrial investments in West Bengal, the first-ever BJP government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in the state may announce its industry policy before the Durga Puja festival in mid-October.
While addressing a programme on the allotment of land for industry at the Milan Mela complex in the city on Wednesday evening, the Chief Minister said that the state industry policy would be announced before the Durga Puja.
Giving a message to industrialists, Suvendu announced a toll-free number, 155-355, where they can call seeking administrative intervention if anybody, like an extortionist, threatens them by demanding money. The state government would take prompt and appropriate steps soon after receiving calls on the toll-free number, he said.
Before coming to power in Bengal, industrialisation in the state was one of the prime electoral promises of the BJP during the Assembly polls in the state.
Escalating his attack on the two previous governments, led by the CPI(M)-led Left Front for 34 years since 1977 and the Trinamool Congress for 15 years since 2011, for their failure to revive Bengal’s moribund industries, Suvendu alleged that the CPI(M) destroyed everything and after that the Trinamool Congress decided not to acquire land for investors. “Mamata Banerjee, coming to power in the state, announced that she won’t acquire land. According to her policy, investors would have to find land for industries,” he said.
“Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had tried a bit, but his party CPI(M) had a very negative policy on industrialisation issues. The Tatas left the small car project site in Singur because of Mamata’s negative politics,” Suvendu, who was then with the Trinamool Congress and active in the land movement in Singur and Nandigram in the state, said at the programme.
Intensifying attacks on the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government, he said, “I was a part of the previous government for some time, but its policies were negative. They used to give an allowance of Rs 500 only. It was an allowance-dependent government at a time when the entire country was eager to become ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-dependent).”
He also said that the previous government had abolished the ‘incentive’ system for industrialisation, but his government has formed a small fund of Rs 5,000 crore for the ‘incentive’ scheme in the state.
“The Ambani Group wants to invest in five to six sectors in the state. A team of the group will visit Bengal soon. The foundation stone-laying ceremony of Goutam Adani will also be held on Thursday in New Town. An agreement under the Central Government’s ‘Udan’ scheme is expected to be signed next week. Five airports, including Kalaikunda, Balurghat and Purulia, will also come up in West Bengal,” he added.
Suvendu is likely to meet Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani at the state secretariat Nabanna on Thursday, as the state government steps up efforts to attract fresh investments and generate employment opportunities, according to sources.
Adani is expected to arrive here tonight and attend the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Adani Arogya Mandir, a proposed 2,000-bed hospital in New Town, on Thursday, sources said.
Adani is scheduled to meet senior state government officials at the Taj Bengal hotel, where discussions on various investment proposals are expected to take place.
Lands were allotted to 33 industrial agencies at the Milan Mela complex this evening. Around Rs 60,000 crore are expected to be invested after industries such as semiconductor, defence, solar power, food processing, MSME, textile and engineering come up there, generating 64,000 jobs.
State Industry Minister Tapas Roy, while speaking at the programme, set a deadline of December 31, 2029, for completion of projects on these lands.
