Kolkata, May 25: West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya on Monday said the new government is working to frame a data policy and a comprehensive land policy to attract investments, while asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen to do “something extraordinary” for the state.
Addressing an event organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Bhattacharya said industries waiting for reforms on land acquisition and investment facilitation would see policy changes soon.
“We will have a new data policy for investors. You have to wait for three months,” he said.
A data policy will provide a regulatory and investment framework for sectors such as data centres, artificial intelligence, cloud services and digital infrastructure, while setting guidelines for data management, storage and security.
The proposed policy is expected to create an enabling framework for investments in data centres, AI and other emerging technology sectors in West Bengal.
Highlighting the Centre’s focus on the state, Bhattacharya said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to do something extraordinary in the holy land of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo.”
He said the previous dispensation’s approach towards land acquisition had severely affected industrial growth in the state.
“We did not have a comprehensive land policy. Mamata Banerjee had said the government cannot acquire land for industry, and companies have to purchase land directly. But 82 per cent of land holdings are fragmented. It is not possible for industries to go door to door for land acquisition,” the state BJP chief said.
Bhattacharya said the government was also planning changes to the land ceiling policy, and results would be visible in the coming months. “New laws will be formulated to protect the business community,” he added.
Seeking to underline a distinction between the party and the government, Bhattacharya said, “The BJP has come to power in the state with a thumping majority, but now it is the government of West Bengal and not a BJP government.
“The government is run by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and his council of ministers. We (BJP) can only give suggestions.”
Bhattacharya alleged that West Bengal had witnessed an exodus of capital and industries over the years. He claimed that 6,300 companies shifted out of Kolkata, 1,016 firms went into liquidation, and around 79,000 small and medium enterprises shut down during the previous regime.
“Today, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are new investment destinations. Bengal’s image on the global stage is very poor,” he said and urged industry leaders to invest in the state.
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, Bhattacharya said Petroleum Mining Lease approvals and land acquisition processes 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.
Bhattacharya also reiterated the state government’s commitment to dearness allowance payments and continuation of social welfare schemes, and said the Union finance minister has assured all support for the state.
