State govt officials to woo businessmen across india for township projects

With an aim to bring more investment in the township projects, senior state government officials have planned to visit different parts of the country to woo businessmen. 

Debasis Sen, principal secretary of urban development department, will visit Mumbai this week to discuss with businessmen about the town policy and its unique character. 

The state government has set up committees comprising senior officials and businessmen to discuss about the framing of various policies. “We have certain norms to frame policies and businessmen have their own arguments. Many problems can be resolved with proper interaction,” Sen said. 

It may be mentioned that six townships coming up in West Bengal are named by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In the Bengal Global Business Summit held on January 8 and 9, Banerjee had urged the businessmen to invest in the township project. The townships have been named as Uttam City in Baruipur, Teesta City in Siliguri, Agnibina in Asansol, Samriddhi in Kalyani and Dumurjala in Howrah. A total of Rs 11,000 crore would be required to complete the project. She had also welcomed foreign investors. 

The townships will come up on over 50 acres land. The promoter will have to purchase the land through e-auction. The firm will have to pay 10 per cent of the total cost of land and the remaining amount can be paid after a year. During this period, the firm will apply and get the necessary clearance to conduct soil testing. An extension can be given for two years but in such cases the firm will have to pay 12 per cent interest. Every township will have a theme.

Sen said 25 per cent houses will be reserved for people coming from economically challenged background. The other 25 per cent will be reserved for economic activities. It may be mentioned that in China, it was found that people have refused township project as there were no scope for economic activities. 

He said the state government would install facilities like water connection and sewer lines to facilitate the firms engaged in township project. 

A recent survey revealed that construction activities in Kolkata and its neighbourhood have gone up in the last quarter of 2015-2016. In city, two high-rise buildings — a 42-storey apartment on Jawaharlal Nehru Road and another 38-storey apartment on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass will come up soon. Senior state government officials said the road shows had created enthusiasm among the firms and one to one interaction with them was likely to yield results.