Mamata warns of taking back unused industrial land
‘Close to 700 acres of land given to Hindustan Motors lying unused, I will ask the Chief Secretary to look into it’
UTTARPARA: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said her government is mulling taking back unused land parcels from Hindustan Motors for developing industrial zones for investment and job creation.
“Close to 700 acres of land given to Hindustan Motors is lying unused in Hind Motors. I will ask the Chief Secretary to look into it and (if required) take over the land. If there is a court case, we will fight it out. The land was given by the erstwhile Left Front government to Hindustan Motors for industrial purposes but it has been lying unused. But the authorities have invested in Chennai by showing this land at Hind Motors,” Banerjee said speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new stainless steel coachmaking unit of Titagarh Wagons in Uttarpara.
Banerjee maintained for land parcels stuck in legal cases, her government should plead before the court to get them back so that industries can be set up which in turn will con
tribute to the generation of jobs.
She pointed out that Titagarh Wagons had to purchase 30 acres of land for the metro factory. “They had wanted 5 acres of land for manufacturing tracks but the land could not be provided while 700 acres of land was lying unused. For what reason?” Banerjee questioned.
“The land was provided for industry. But if you do not serve the purpose, then how will there be a generation of jobs? Kalyan (MP Kalyan Banerjee) is aware of the details of this land. I will ask the Chief Secretary to work out the legal path so that this land can be taken back,” Banerjee stated.
She added that this was another step taken to make Bengal an industrial hub. “It is indeed another feather to the industrialisation drive of West Bengal. We have registered a positive growth of 1.2 per cent in our state GDP during the pandemic over the national GDP growth rate of 0.2 per cent.
West Bengal as a state has set up 521 MSME clusters, 16 medical colleges, 52 engineering colleges, 43 speciality hospitals, and we have been able to decrease the unemployment rate by 45 per cent. The state govt has ensured investment to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh crore after the Bengal Global Business Summit. The state government has allocated a total of 250 acres of land in Silicon Valley out of which 100 acres have been already consumed and the rest 100 acres are being consumed. We are expecting a total employment generation of 60,000. I am urging Titagarh Wagons Ltd to employ a 20 per cent women workforce. Let us expand our industrial horizon. We are very happy that Titagarh Wagons Ltd is achieving new milestones. A lot of corporates are coming to the state. Ford is investing. We are confident of making our state an industry hub,” said the Chief Minister.
Umesh Chowdhary, vice-chairman and Managing Director, Titagarh Wagons, said the firm is looking to invest close to Rs 1,000 crore over the next three to five years for expanding wagon manufacturing capacity and for setting up a new foundry unit for backward integration.
The company currently has a capacity of manufacturing around 8,400 wagons a year and is looking to scale it up to 12,000 wagons a year in the next three to five years.
“We have embarked on this project to manufacture aluminium and stainless steel coaches for Metro and passenger wagons. We have two foundry units with a combined capacity of close to 30,000 tonnes. We are looking to set up a new foundry unit with a capacity close to 70,000 tonnes in Bengal,” Chowdhary said.