Thaindian News

Kolkata, July 2 (IANS) Notwithstanding the West Bengal government’s announcement that it will not involve itself in land acquisition for setting up private projects, Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee Saturday urged investors to sit down with it for talks for solving problems, including land acquisition.

“We had a good interaction with the business fraternity June 18. The chief minister announced there that the government will not involve itself in land acquisition for setting up new industries,” Chatterjee said at FICCI’s national executive committee meeting here.

“As far as the ministry is concerned, we do not have any problem relating to land. And we welcome those who are having problem. They should come forward… we can certainly sit across the table and do our best,” he said.

A two-member expert committee has recommended that the government will have no role to play in land acquisition for private industry and investors will have to acquire land directly from owners.

The minister, however, said frequent interaction between the government and industrialists at both formal and informal levels was absolutely essential for speedy disposal of cases.

“We believe that agriculture and industry would complement each other in the overall development process of the state,” he said.

Chatterjee said better infrastructure and logistic support was most important for the state’s development.

“West Bengal has the potential to emerge as one of the top investment zones,” he added.