Bengal draws land acquisition plan for large projects

The West Bengal government has drawn a new land acquisition strategy for large industrial projects to minimise hurdles and boost downstream and ancillary units around the mother plant.

The model is being first experimented in Purulia district where three major steel projects of total capacity 7 MT are coming up, with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) deciding to allocate land for industrial parks and not to individual companies.

The Purulia model began with land acquisition for three large private sector projects -- Jai Balaji Industries, Shyam Steel and Adhunik, said WBIDC managing director Subrata Gupta said here today.

Each company would be the anchor investor in respective steel parks and support downstream units, Gupta said on the sidelines of a foundation stone-laying ceremony for a 1.1 MT integrated steel plant for Shyam Steel Ltd.

Gupta said that 15-20 per cent of the land would be earmarked for ancillary and downstream units out of the total land allocated to industrial parks.

WBIDC is developing three steel parks in Raghunathpur in the district -- 2,500 acre for Adhunik, 3,600 acre for Jai Balaji Industries and 1,200 acre for Shyam Steel.

In the three steel parks these three would be the main anchor industry with a cluster of ancillary units surrounding them, Gupta said.

The idea, he said, was to create common infrastructure in the area  such as roads, rail and water.

Though the anchor industry did not have big employment opportunity, clubbing the ancillary units would have tremendous potential.

"We wish to create an environment to woo ancillary investors here so that both the mother plant gets a readymade buyer and the ancillary units benefit from practically zero raw material transportation costs," he said.

The Purulia model would be followed in other major proposed projects such as Bhushan Steel project in Salanpur and Videocon Project in Jamuria.

"We have introduced stricter norms to companies which want land for setting up industry. An expert committee will regularly supervise developments," he said.