Calcutta, Aug. 19: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said his government would allot free land for setting up plastic manufacturing units in the investment-starved Cooch Behar and Midnapore districts.

Inaugurating a workshop on schemes for micro and small-scale industries this morning, the chief minister said the growth of plastic units in the state has been far below expectations.

“We want new plastic units to come up in clusters. If required, the government will allot free land in Cooch Behar and Midnapore,” he said.

Bengal has around 3.5 lakh registered small-scale industrial units and five lakh unregistered ones.

The chief minister’s announcement comes at a time when the government is looking for land to house a host of industrial projects.

The Left Front government has been trying to hardsell agriculturally insignificant districts like West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura, but not many investors have shown interest in them. Most of them want land near Calcutta.

“We want to develop small-scale industrial units in Midnapore, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts. They have been lagging behind.… While plastic units in Midnapore can supply to nearby Jharkhand and Bihar, those in north Bengal can cater to northeastern states,” Bhattacharjee said.

Manab ticked off

The chief minister chided cottage and small-scale industries minister Manab Mukherjee for the absence of bank representatives at the workshop.

“What’s the matter, Manab? Why haven’t banks been invited to today’s programme? Where will the finance for these businesses come from?” he asked Mukherjee, who sat next to him on the dais.

Bhattacharjee also pointed out the need for developing handloom, silk, plastic and jute industries, where employment opportunities are “phenomenal”.