Kolkata: The cabinet investment committee chaired by state commerce and industry minister Tapas Roy directed state officials to prepare a report on the land bank available with the govt at its first meeting on Monday. The state govt is also mulling the possibility of appointing a foreign strategic consultant to attract foreign investment in Bengal.
Land officials were asked to verify and submit a report within a week on the land available with the govt, the price at which it can be offered to industrialists, plots that were lying empty and those that were encroached upon.
Power incentives and other tax holidays that could be offered to industrialists were also discussed.
Roy said the Bengal govt is working on a war footing to prepare a new industrial policy as well as a new incentive policy.
“We discussed everything related to industry. We are working on war footing to prepare and finalise a new industrial policy and a new incentive policy, which will be announced at the earliest,” he said.
BJP-run Bengal govt had allocated Rs 5,000 crore in its budget, to reintroduce industrial incentives in the state.
The previous Trinamool govt had withdrawn all incentives arguing that funds should instead be diverted to “socio-economically disadvantaged and marginalised groups.”
Subsidies on land, tax refunds, electricity, interest repayments and other state-supported measures were scrapped, resulting in around Rs 20,000 crore in pending industrial subsidies and incentives.
On being asked if the state govt was considering releasing the pending subsidies, the minister said, “We are discussing the matter.”