Assocham plans to submit draft policy on industrial parks in Bengal soon

KOLKATA: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) plans to submit a draft policy on industrial parks to the state government in the next three weeks, its eastern region development council (ERDC) chairman Sanjay Jhunjhunwala said here on Tuesday.
"The state commerce and industries department has asked us (Assocham) to submit a draft policy for trouble free industrial parks here.We will submit that in the next 20-25 days. By 2015, West Bengal will witness a number of industrial parks," he said. The apex industry body plans to unfold a report on growth strategy for West Bengal on Wednesday. The department asked Assocham to prepare it a couple of weeks ago.
Jhunjhunwala said more industrial parks in the state will ensure common facilities which will reduce operating costs, increase competitiveness and develop requisite skills for various sectors. Industrial parks cater to all sorts of industries, including the IT sector.
The apex industry body, Assocham, along with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the centre's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is doing a detailed study and discussing with the state government about setting up food processing industries in North 24 Parganas and West Midnapore.
Speaking on the land acquisition issues in the state, Jhunjhunwala said the procedure for acquisition of land should be more regulated and auctions can be used to determine correct compensation prices. "Besides monetary compensation, non-monetary assistance can also help attract landowners to give up their land for industrial purpose," he said.
Hassle free procurement of land is necessary to boost industrial development in West Bengal, says a study jointly brought out by Assocham and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. There is also a need to address lack of basic facilities in industry-ready land areas, it said.
The joint study said on the economic front, there is an urgent need to address the debt scenario in the state to balance the ratio between debt and gross state domestic product (GSDP) to improve West Bengal's fiscal situation.