The Ambuja Neotia Group is all set to expand its footprints in north Bengal, a region where it had stepped in around two decades back.

“Around 20 years back, we had taken up our first project in Siliguri, the Uttarayon. Gradually, we have come up with some other projects, ranging from healthcare to resorts to real estate. We are opening two more resorts in Darjeeling and the Dooars. Also, another residential project, Utsodhaara, is coming up in Siliguri,” Harshvardhan Neotia, the chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group, said in an interview with The Telegraph on Monday.

Utsodhaara, a second township, is coming up at Kawakhali in the southern part of the city.

“It will be an educational and healthcare centre and some hospitals and educational institutions will come up on the campus. Also, there will be commercial spaces for offices and other infrastructure,” he added.

The site, which is off Asian Highway II, also has apartments for the economically weaker sections of the society.

“We have built those apartments and have handed over those to families through appropriate formalities. Also, people have bought plots in Utsodhaara where they can build their own houses. Added to these, HIG (higher economic group) apartments are coming up at the location. There will also be a sports club at the township,” said Neotia.

He pointed out that ever since the corporate group forayed into north Bengal, 85 to 90 per cent of the people who got jobs in its projects are from the regional population.

“There had been tens of thousands of employment at the projects, both directly and indirectly. In most of the cases, people were brought in to handle senior and specialised positions,” he said.

Along with Uttorayon and Utsodhaaara, the group has come up with some hotels and resorts, including the Montana Vista in Uttarayon. Also, it has joined hands with Indian Hotels Company Limited and is running the Taj Guras Kutir in Gangtok and Taj Chia Kutir in the Makaibari tea estate in Kurseong.

The group has come up with Neotia Getwell, a multi-specialty hospital, on the Uttarayon premises.

“Along with setting up an appropriate infrastructure for healthcare, we could get proper doctors. It is an important aspect on which we have worked and got doctors who were interested to work in Siliguri. We are planning to expand the facility to cater to the entire northeast. Our group is also coming up with another hospital in Guwahati,” said Neotia.

“We are also working on another project for a resort in Rabong of Sikkim,” he added.