Industry Incentives Linked to Job Creation: Suvendu
Times of India | 18 July 2026
Bankura: Bengal govt’s upcoming incentive policy for industry will be linked to the quantum of employment generated by an industrial unit, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Friday.
“Incentives will depend on how many jobs a unit creates. We want Bengal’s youth to get employment here. We don’t want people of our state to become migrant labourers,” the CM said after laying the foundation stone of Shyam Steel Group’s 2-MTPA steel plant at Mejia in Bankura.
Industry and commerce minister Tapas Roy said Bengal’s new incentive policy will be on a par with other states and open up job opportunities. The new project at Mejia is likely to generate about 20,000 jobs, he said.
Adhikari said his govt will adopt a carrot-and-stick policy for industrial development. The govt will support industries in terms of land transfer, incentives and other benefits, provided investors follow legal processes and comply with pollution norms. He asked industries to ensure safety training, provident fund and medical insurance for their employees.
At the same time, he assured industries that they will “no longer face lockout, extortion or goonda raj”. “If any factory is vandalised or its gates are locked to mount pressure on the owner, we will take stern measures and make the accused pay compensation. The anti-goonda law will ensure a conducive environment for industry,” he said.
“This is just the beginning. Bengal will witness more development work in the coming five years. More foundation stone-laying ceremonies for industrial units are lined up in the state. I have had talks with the likes of Sanjeev Goenka and other industrialists who have promised investments here. Goenka wants to set up a battery unit in the state,” Adhikari said.
The CM reiterated that investors will not have to worry about acquiring land. “Govt will acquire land and transfer it to investors,” he said, adding that neither the Left Front regime nor the Trinamool govt helped industry with land acquisition.
Attacking the previous Trinamool govt, Adhikari said Bengal witnessed economic disaster in the past 15 years with “80% revenue leakage”. “Bengal lagged behind other states. For example, Rs 60 crore revenue used to come annually from stone quarries. Now, Rs 83 crore has been generated from this sector between May and June,” he said.
Adhikari also stressed on green practices in industrial sectors. “While flying here in a helicopter, I found thick smoke belching out from a factory in West Midnapore. We will take step against such units. Zero carbon emission practices and plantation are needed for environment-friendly industries,” he said.
State urban development minister Agnimitra Paul said, “Bengal has been waiting for the day when dreams of industrial development will become a reality. It’s just the onset.”