Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said her government has brought down man-days lost in the state due to strikes and disruptions to zero from 75 lakh per year during the erstwhile Left regime, as she made it very clear before the business tycoons and foreign delegates at the 6th edition of Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) that the thrust area of the state government now is industry and agriculture and the two should go hand-in-hand.
Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day BGBS at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town on Wednesday, Banerjee said: "We lost 75 lakh man-days every year during the Left Front rule but now, no man-days are lost."
Banerjee also stated that during the pandemic, Bengal's GDP grew, however, the GDP of India took a dip. She said: "While Bengal's GDP was in plus, GDP of the country's was in minus." The Chief Minister added: "Bengal is the first state to organise a physical business summit since the Covid pandemic struck." The BGBS could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to the spike in Covid infections.
"My thrust area is industry and agriculture and job opportunities in Bengal should go up," she added. Banerjee added that by 2023, the state will join the national gas grid.
Taking a dig at the Central government, Banerjee urged Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to talk to Central authorities to ensure that industrialists are not disturbed by the agencies.
She said: "Through the Governor, I want (to) tell if you don't mind, Governor Sir (that you speak) on behalf of all industrialists as they cannot open their mouths. We want all help from the Central government. (In the next) Governor's conference please raise it. Please see industrialists are not disturbed through some agencies."
The Chief Minister also revealed that the state has plans to set up a Rs 72,000-crore industrial zone in the densely forested backward Jangalmahal area along the eastern freight corridor being built by the Centre linking North India with West Bengal's ports.
Responding to Banerjee's call that 'Bengal Means Business', Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, stated that the Group will invest Rs 10,000 crore in Bengal over a span of 10 years and this will create employment opportunities for at least 25,000 people.
Sanjiv Puri, chairman, ITC said the company will set up its 20th manufacturing unit in Uluberia soon. Narendran, CEO and MD, Tata Steel, added that Rs 600 crore investment will come up in Kharagpur. Sajjan Jindal, chairman, JSW Steel, said Rs 900 MW pump storage project will be set up in Bengal.
Banerjee said the environment is ideal to invest in Bengal. "There is no strike, no bandh and no man-days lost. There is no division in society and those who will invest in Bengal will receive every possible help from the state government," she said.
Adding that Bengal was the gateway to eastern and northeastern India, neighbouring Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as well as South East Asia, she said building business in the state would help the industries to expand to various parts of the continent easily.
She further said that the state will work on eight pillars of development, including infrastructure, education, social security, skill development and ease-of-doing-business.
Banerjee added that there has been remarkable development in infrastructure. Education for all and social security for the underprivileged are two key areas. Through various social security schemes, women have been empowered. "In 2021, Rs 18,000 crore was spent on physical infrastructure building. Moreover, ease of doing business and ease of governance has attracted investors," Banerjee stated.
On Wednesday, she also virtually inaugurated the distribution of Lakshmir Bhandar to five lakh more beneficiaries.
Addressing the gathering, Banerjee said three industrial growth corridors to link Dankuni with Haldia, Kalyani and Raghunathpur will be set up soon.
The Chief Minister also added that in Deocha Pachami there is a coal reserve of 2.1 billion tonnes which is the second-largest single mine reserve in the world.
Governor Dhankhar inaugurated the two-day BGBS. He spoke about the rich heritage of Bengal and maintained that the state is the best place for investment.
A short documentary film on the development of Bengal was also shown on the occasion. Nineteen countries have taken part in the 6th edition of the BGBS.
Amit Mitra, Financial Advisor to the Chief Minister, said during the pandemic Bengal was able to maintain 7.2 per cent growth. Chief Secretary H K Diwedi welcomed the guests and maintained that Bengal is the ideal destination for investment as investors will get every cooperation from the state government.
Tipu Munshi, Commerce minister of Bangladesh, said a delegation accompanying him is interested to invest in Bengal. His speech in Bengali touched the audience immensely.