Bengal IT dept gets land rich

New 500 acre-IT hub: a snub for Hidco's Rs 2.16 cr /acre in Rajarhat

An end to the impasse over the controversial New Town (Rajarhat) land allotment issue appears to be in sight as the state cabinet has approved transfer of 500 acres of land to the IT department for creating a new IT hub.

The move assumes special significance in the light of exorbitant rates quoted by Hidco for transfer of land to IT and ITES companies proposing to set up campuses in the Rajarhat area.

Hidco was understood to be asking for a price of Rs 2.16 crore per acre. The price was mainfold higher than that charged by other IT and ITES destinations in the country.

State IT minister, Manabendra Mukherjee announced the decision of the state cabinet today. The hub would come up between New Town and airport.

He said, the project would be a public-private partnership initiative. The land would be distributed by the IT department or the partner unlike Rajarhat where it was under complete control of Hidco.

Mukherjee refrained from categorically saying that the initiative was taken to sidestep Hidco and go ahead with the IT development in Kolkata which had hit a roadblock due to Hidco's stance.

However when asked what the state government was doing to bring down the Rajarhat prices, Mukherjee cited the new IT hub project and said, "This is what we are doing."

The price quoted by Hidco for Rajarhat was enormously higher than the price at which government had transferred land in other cities to IT and ITES companies.

Industry sources said, prices quoted in Bangalore were around Rs 35 lakh per acre, Hyderabad Hitech City around Rs 60 lakh per acre, Chennai Rs 16 lakh per acre and in Chandigarh at Rs 42 lakh per acre.

Some of the companies that have evinced interest in taking up land at Rajarhat were Wipro (40-50 acres), Cognizant and Tata Consultancy Services.

Mukherjee said, the price for the new hub was yet to be decided and the IT department would float a global tender for the project.

When asked whether Wipro or TCS would move their campuses to the new location, Mukherjee said, he would take a call on the issue later.

Hidco has, so far, allotted 10 acres of land to DLF through Webel and 150 acres to Unitech.The IT department had asked for 200-300 acres from Hidco, which had not happened.