Bengal govt clears land hurdle for four pending projects

Enables four companies to acquire land more than the ceiling limit of 24 acres for industrial projects in the state

West Bengal government has decided to grant an exemption under section 14Y of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act to  four companies, enabling them to acquire land more than the ceiling limit of 24 acres for their long-pending industrial projects in the state.

“The standing committee on infrastructure development and industry has approved these four applications for 14Y clearance. We are against forcible acqusition of land. But, we  will always support, if the projects are acceptable to chief minister,” West Bengal industry minister Partha Chatterjee said.

The Land Reforms Act places a ceiling of 24 acres on land acquisition while Section 14Y of the Act exempts the ceiling.

This would allow the four companies --  Power Grid Corporation, SPS Steel and Power Ltd, ACC Cement and Ankit Metals – to go ahead with their long-pending projects in the state.

The  Power Grid Corporation required land for their electric supply lines and substation in various parts of North Bengal, while SPS applied for exemption for their proposed steel plant in Purulia. ACC project is proposed to come up in an industrial park near Kharagpur. Ankit Metal too had submitted a detailed project report (DPR) for its proposed plant in Bankura district of the state.