West Bengal saw 97% decline in
industries since 2010
The
state saw projects worth Rs 312 crore being implemented, which was a fall of
nearly 85% over the previous year
After the recent Cabinet reshuffle in West Bengal, it is yet to be seen if the newly
appointed commerce and industry minister, Amit Mitra, has a magic wand to bring
investors in West Bengal, but surely his predecessor’s tenure was riddled with
industrial degradation, carefully camouflaged in stellar growth numbers.
In its presentation to the Planning Commission, West
Bengal has said that since May 2011, the state received investment proposals of
Rs 1.12 lakh crore, with a potential to create 314,000 jobs.
However, the actual implementation of the projects is
nowhere near the proposed investments. The year 2012 was particularly rugged in
the industrial front for West Bengal. The state saw projects worth Rs 312 crore
being implemented, which was a fall of nearly 85% over the previous year, and
97% over 2010-the last year of Left Front rule in the state, according to data
from the West Bengal Economic Review 2012-13.
In 2012-13, West Bengal saw industrial sector growth of
5.48% (at constant 2004-05 prices), which was higher than that in 2011-12, when
the state's industrial sector grew at 3.82%. However, the industrial growth in
2011-12, the first year of TMC-led government in West Bengal, was much lower
than that in 2010-11, when the industrial sector grew by 5.83%.
At the core of the
industrial deprivation in West Bengal lies the unavailability of land in the
state. In its draft industrial policy stated that the government is against any
kind of forcible acquisition of land, that washing off hands from acquiring any
land for industries in the state.
“Land is a big issue in West Bengal. I think the government
is learning its lessons, and eventually it will choose a middle path to promote
industries, while not deviating from its old stance. I am hopeful that Mr Mitra
will be able to initiate direct discussions with top industrialists and sort
out the issues,” said Dipankar Dasgupta, former professor of Economics, Indian
Statistical Institute.
Again, The All India Trinamool Congress booklet, on the
occasion of completion of two years of governance, says that the gross state
domestic product (GSDP) growth rate in 2012-13 was at 7.60% compared to the
national average of 4.96%. But a closer look reveal that West Bengal’s GSDP
growth is much less than the peak growth in the last five years, which came in
2010-11, when GSDP grew at 9.22% (at 2004-05 prices), according to data
available with the Planning Commission.
The stagnation in the industrial front in the state can be
assessed by the state of real estate sector in West Bengal. The state did not
receive any investment, either foreign or domestic, in the real estate sector
in the financial year 2012-13, according to a recent report by industry body
Assocham. In 2011-12, the State attracted new investment commitments in the
real estate sector worth over Rs 1,200 crore. The state's adherence to the
Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act (ULCA), 1976, has is one of the biggest
roadblocks in acquiring large tracts of land in the real estate sector. West
Bengal is one of the few states in the country to have a legislation like the
ULCA. However, much to the disappointment of the developers, the state has
declined to repeal the act.
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