Mamata Banerjee on Monday issued a series of instructions to the state administration to create a “speedy, efficient and transparent” environment for investment in Bengal, the directions aimed at ensuring a higher rate of implementation of investment proposals by removing bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“We have cleared more than 1,000 proposals in the past one month since the Bengal Global Business Summit was held... We have to create a speedy, efficient and transparent environment by avoiding bureaucratic red tapism,” said the chief minister at Nabanna on Monday.
She was speaking during a programme to launch a portal where investors can directly log in to seek approvals or permissions for their projects. The portal also has a grievance redress system, she said. The instructions issued by the chief minister include a time bound action from the government officials on issuing clearances in matters related to land, fire and environment departments.
She set a 15-day deadline for processing applications for conversion of leasehold plots to freehold plots, land settlement applications in the Bantala Leather Complex, and earliest disposal of all pending applications for conversion and mutation of land, pending applications for fire licences.
All land settlement applications pending with the WBIDC, HIDCO should be processed within 10 days and forwarded to the chief secretary, she said before adding that the government has received five proposals for setting up steel related industries in the state and they would come up before the cabinet soon.
“A total of ₹35,000 crore would be invested through these steel units and about 50,000 jobs would be generated,” she said, while adding that the pollution control board and the environment department have given their consent to more than 1,000 investment proposals in the past one month since the BGBS was held.
The proposals, she said, include a ₹491.49 crore expansion project by the Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Limited in Raniganj, a ₹170 crore project by Captain Steel in Kalyaneshwari in West Burdwan, a ₹670 crore project by Palladium Construction in Alipore and a ₹496.50 crore project by Godrej Properties in Khardah.
“She has secured a strong support base through her welfare schemes. But the youths in the state often raise questions over lack of employment opportunities here. The chief minister is now focusing on this particular issue,” said a senior bureaucrat.
The chief minister also made it clear that her government would not hesitate to take action against the state officials who would delay clearances. Mamata announced that the state-level investment synergy committee — headed by the chief secretary — would hold meetings every fortnight and clear all issues that would create bottlenecks for investors.
The chief minister said that the government has already processed the proposal of a greenfield power project worth ₹16,000 of JSW Energy, which was proposed in the BGBS last month, adding that such speedy clearance would be possible in the coming days through the synergy committee set up by the state.