A recent statement by Samik Bhattacharya, a senior functionary of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bengal, regarding the need for a comprehensive industrial policy for West Bengal, addresses, arguably, the most important item on the list of priorities for the newly-elected government. An important element in the revival plan ought to be a template for rapid industrialisation. During the early years of the Left Front rule, Bengal had done well in agriculture: this sector still remains the mainstay of the state’s economy. The political aborting of the industrial projects in Singur and Nandigram left investors wary of coming to West Bengal. The record of the Trinamool Congress, the Left Front’s political successor, was inadequate in this aspect. There is thus an acute urgency when it comes to the need for Bengal to industrialise.
Mr Bhattacharya has mentioned that an effective industrial policy would include a revision of legislations regulating land acquisition, such as the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, along with the creation of special economic zones, an endorsement for contract farming and so on. The new government must be aware that this is much easier said than done: there are steep challenges to be overcome in this respect. The principal and perhaps the most daunting challenge pertains to land. Eighty-two per cent of the land in Bengal is held by small holders and marginal farmers. For most of them, land is not merely a marketable asset. It represents the only income-earning asset they expect to hold during their lifetimes. Treating the issue the way the erstwhile Left Front did, say, in Nandigram, would be disastrous: that is not the way to acquire agricultural land for industrial projects. The TMC opted for the other extreme, creating a protectionist shield against land acquisition that ended up hurting the state’s prospects of industrialisation. That is not the way forward either. The new government must deal with the problem of land acquisition carefully and sensitively. Imaginative, empathetic and participatory solutions must be prioritised over the use of force or adhering to protectionism. If the government succeeds in resolving this challenge — it must for the sake of the state — the other obstacles on the path of Bengal’s industrialisation — restoring the confidence of investors, a laggardly work culture and the revival of allied sectors — could well be removed as well.