12 Kolkata: The Bengal cabinet's infrastructure committee on Tuesday gave nod to Agrisource India to set up a new fertiliser factory on a 33.1-acre plot at WBIDC's Panagarh Industrial Estate. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by CM Mamata Banerjee, state finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said. The land would soon be handed over to Agrisource India.
There was a dearth of fertiliser factories in Bengal as most of them had stopped functioning and this led to the decision, Bhattacharya said. "The factories which were at Haldia have shut down, so we need to get fertilisers for our farmers from outside Bengal. WBIDC would provide land to the company," she added.
Bhattacharya said the cabinet also approved construction of malls for self-help groups in Cooch Behar, Howrah, North Dinajpur and Bankura. This would allow products of SHGs to be showcased in these malls. To boost the MSME sector, particularly artisans, the state govt decided to provide one acre of land in each district of Bengal for the malls.