Kolkata, May 25 -- Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Monday declared that the newly formed BJP government will usher in "transformative" measures within the first 100 days to revive Bengal's manufacturing and investment climate and create job opportunities.
"The need of the hour is to bring in a new land policy and a new data policy which would contribute towards the revival of the business opportunities and create job opportunities. For this, we need to implement policy changes and introduce new policies. In the next 100 days, our government, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, will surely do the needful in this regard," said Bhattacharya, addressing a programme organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata.
He described the exodus of major corporate houses from Bengal during the erstwhile Left and TMC regimes "deeply unfortunate" and said the new dispensation was committed to reopening the doors for investment. He claimed that 6,300 companies shifted out of the state, 1,016 firms went into liquidation, and around 79,000 small and medium enterprises shut down during the previous regime.
"There will be incentives and tax holiday. The state administration will collaborate closely with the Centre to design targeted fiscal incentives to draw businesses back to West Bengal," he maintained.
Bhattacharya claimed that groundwork had already begun with the state government preparing a strong policy framework in this regard.
He claimed that due to a lack of a comprehensive land policy, Bengal failed to bring in investment.
"Former CM Mamata Banerjee immediately after assuming power, declared that the state would not acquire a single square inch of land, whether public or private. Investors were forced to purchase land directly from farmers. Given that small farmers own 82 per cent of West Bengal's cultivated land, the holdings are entirely fragmented; It was structurally impossible for a major investor to come to the state under those conditions," said Bhattacharya.
He assured the delegation of business leaders of an ecosystem free of extortion and political interference.
"If anyone carrying a BJP flag demands money at your factory gate, inform us. Their place will be either in jail or in police lock-up," Bhattacharya said, announcing that the party and the state government will soon launch separate numbers for complaints against any hindrance to industry projects.
"You people focus on doing business. I assure you there will be no hindrance, no obstruction, and no extortion.
We are formulating a new law explicitly designed to protect the business community. That is our singular objective," he added.
Referring to stalled industrial projects, he alleged that several proposals suffered due to a lack of policy support and delays in approvals during the previous government.
About the Ashoknagar oil field project, he said Petroleum Mining Lease approvals had remained pending. He also claimed that MOIL, a manganese ore mining company, had written multiple times to the earlier government without receiving any response.
"The state government will surely get these projects going to begin economic activities in full swing which would have a cascading effect," said Bhattacharya.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.