Kolkata, July 11 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday announced a policy of direct purchase of land by the state government from land owners for setting up new industries in the state.

“We have formulated a policy for direct land purchase. The state government had already started the policy of direct land purchase in the international border areas in the state and then gave them to the Border Security Force (BSF) for erection of barbed fencing there. The same policy will be followed in the case of industry as well. We do not want repetition of tension over land availability for industry as to what happened in the past at Singur and Nandigram. I assure those who are interested in doing industry or business here. You will not have any problem getting land. We will directly purchase the land and give it to you,” the Chief Minister said while addressing an event at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of a hosiery manufacturing unit at Dankuni in Hooghly district.

Speaking on the occasion, Adhikari also said that the foremost rider for attracting new investment in the state is to maintain a stable law and order situation in the state.

“Our new (Bharatiya Janata Party-led state) government has already made some progress on this count. We are determined for ensuring the right investment atmosphere for the industrialists by ensuring a stable law & order situation and totally wiping out the past culture of cut-money and extortion,” the Chief Minister added.

He also criticised the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government for the huge accumulated debt that the new BJP government led by him had inherited.

“We are spending nearly Rs 1,00,000 crore a year for repayment of loan and interest. If that money was available, it could have been used for more developmental work. That is exactly why the state needs to increase revenue for development. The more industries and factories would be established and more investments made in West Bengal, the more revenue will flow into the government’s coffers. That is why our government is working with an aim of making West Bengal one of the country’s leading investment destinations again,” the Chief Minister said.

He also added that large scale industrialisation in West Bengal is necessary for more employment generation in the state.

“The unemployment problem cannot be solved only through state government jobs. Large scale employment generation in the public sector is also necessary. At the same time, we will also encourage new entrepreneurship in the state. The state government will provide soft loan for that,” the Chief Minister said.

–IANS

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