West Bengal FM Swapan Dasgupta calls for scrapping Urban Land Ceiling Act

Finance minister urges organised real estate players to invest in West Bengal, saying land laws and tenancy issues remain impediments to the state's development

West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta on Friday reiterated that the Urban Land Ceiling Act has to go, a long-standing demand from industry.

 

“We have certain laws dating back to the 1970s that have been scrapped in the rest of India. One of them is the Urban Land Ceiling Act,” he said, describing it as an impediment and deterrent to development. “It has to go.” He was speaking at NATCON 2026, organised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai).

 

He also cited barga tenancy — a rural land-tenure issue — as another impediment to growth, particularly as the state looks to build more factories, logistics hubs and technology parks.

 

 

However, Dasgupta said that these challenges would have to be overcome with “a measure of humaneness and a degree of generosity”.

 

He said Kolkata had been off the map for nearly 50 years. “Now, we're back. I promise you, we're back. And we are going to make up for the lost time.”

 

The finance minister added that Kolkata and West Bengal present the greatest opportunity. “It is a state, crying out for modernisation, crying out for upgradation, and crying to get back to the 21st century. The opportunities are huge because we need to upgrade at every level.”

 

Urging the organised real estate sector to participate in the opportunity, he said that the real estate business in Kolkata has been a scam.

 

“I choose that word deliberately because it has been left in the hands of sharks with political connections who have made a fortune by short-changing people. We need to get the organised sector into West Bengal and Kolkata so that a degree of order and regulation and accountability can be brought into this, which is why I feel all of you are needed because you represent the organised force,” he said.

 

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, he said, “We need an organised system, we need accountability, we need the law, we need the RERA to be put into full operation here, which is why the organised sector is welcome here.”

 

Their presence will play an important role in redeveloping Kolkata, the finance minister added.

 

The government may also look at diluting Section 14Y provisions to facilitate industry. The Land Reforms Act places a ceiling of 24 acres on land acquisition, while Section 14Y of the Act provides exemptions from the ceiling. This is for rural areas.

 

At the event, Boman Irani, Chairman, Credai, noted that the first NATCON in India was taking place in Kolkata. “In India’s connectivity, West Bengal plays a very important part to reach out to the eastern markets,” he said.

 

Addressing the finance minister, Irani said, “You just decide that your city needs to grow, your city needs to be developed, and we will open up all the learnings that we have from across the country.”

 

Shekhar G Patel, President, Credai, said that the next phase of India’s urban growth will increasingly extend beyond the traditional metropolitan centres. “Kolkata, with its economic depth and position as a gateway to eastern India, can play an important role in this transition.”

 

He added that bringing NATCON to Kolkata was about focusing the industry’s attention on this opportunity and creating a dialogue on how real estate and infrastructure can together contribute to more connected and competitive cities, in line with the vision of Viksit Bharat.