Tata Group most welcome to invest in Bengal: Partha

Kolkata: Reiterating that Tata Group is most welcome in the state, Industry and IT minister Partha Chatterjee said on Friday that 25 applications have been received for industrial projects in the state.

"I had asked the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) to advertise plots available in and around 25 industrial parks, including IT parks in the state for investors' information. We have already received 25 proposals among which two are for setting up big industries and the others predominantly medium and small scale industries. Proposals for investment in IT have also come. The thrust of the government is in employment generation and new projects are avenues to the same," Chatterjee said adding that it is heartening that Bengal continues to be the investment destination, even at a time when the country is passing through a grim Covid situation.

Chatterjee said Essar Oil has shown interest for investing in Durgapur and Panagarh in the solar sector. Their project is expected to employ over 600 people. "Assocham has proposed to set up a homeopathic hub in the state," the minister added.

He assured of extending assistance for setting up industries in the state but made it clear that the government will not be involved in land acquisition for any industry. "The firms will have to acquire the land and the state government is contemplating of working out a plan of cutting down the time of land conversion for the benefit of the investors," he added. When questioned about the state government's stand on the Tata Group, Chatterjee said the government has no enmity with any industry group. "In Singur, the small-car factory was proposed on a multiple-crop farm land that was forcibly taken from the farmers. The movement was not against the Tata Group but against the land that was selected for setting up the factory. We welcome investment from the Tata Group," he said.

Chatterjee added that there is already presence of Tata Metaliks, and Tata Steel in the state. Flipkart donated medical equipment in the form of 30 ventilators to the state health department on Friday.