India News | Bengal Govt to Continue with No Forcible Land Acquisition Policy: Industry Min

Kolkata, Jul 23 (PTI) West Bengal Industry and IT Minister Partha Chatterjee said on Friday that the state government will continue with its policy of "no forcible land acquisition", and the resource has to be bought by industrial units.

The state government is looking at two or three big investments for job creation, he said, adding that the expansion of two existing industrial units in Paschim Medinipur and Purulia districts are also on the cards.

"We will continue with our policy of no forcible land acquisition. Industries will have to buy land on their own and the government will facilitate and help them in the conversion process", he told reporters here.

Conversion of land is either required in case of agricultural plots or if an industrial unit buys more land than the stipulated maximum holding limit.

Responding to a query about Tata's exit from Singur due to farmers' stir, he said, "They are not our enemy. Our party (TMC) only opposed the forcible acquisition of multi-crop land, and unwilling farmers were not ready to part with their resources.

"We were against the selection of the location of the small car factory at Singur and not the project. Our leader Mamata Banerjee had told then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee not to make it a prestige issue and shift the project to a different place," he said.

Singur -- once known for multiple crop farming - hogged the limelight after Tata Motors set its sight on the area to build its cheapest car manufacturing unit, Nano, in 2006. The then Left Front government had acquired 997.11 acres along National Highway 2 and handed it over to the company.

Leading from the front, the then opposition leader and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had called for a 26-day hunger strike, demanding the return of 347 acres that were apparently forcibly acquired.

Despite numerous meetings and consultations between the TMC and the Left Front government, no solution was reached, and Tatas eventually moved out of Singur and built its plant in Gujarat's Sanand. Land acquired for the project was subsequently returned to locals in 2016.

"If there are investment proposals from the Tatas or others, we will welcome them if these are within the framework of our policy, " Chatterjee said.

He said the government's main target is to create job opportunities and is "looking for two or three big-ticket investments in the state".

"We want both industry and agriculture to prosper in Bengal," Chatterjee stated.

According to him, two industrial houses have shown interest to expand their existing units at Kharagpur in Paschim Medinipur and Raghunathpur in Purulia. "Details will be finalised shortly", he said.

Essar Oil has shown interest in drilling 200 more CBM (coal-bed methane) wells in Durgapur area with a promise to create job opportunities for 600 people, he said.

The group is eager to invest in the non-conventional energy sector like solar power, he added.

Chatterjee had discussions with representatives from Credai, CII and Assocham on various investments initiatives.

Assocham had shown interest in setting up a homoeopathic hub in the state, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)