Minister push on units

A session on tourism sector in progress at the business meet organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday. Picture by Passang Yolmo

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Feb 16, 2018, Siliguri: North Bengal development minister Rabindranath Ghosh asked industrialists to start units on plots which they had acquired on industrial estates years back but had not set up any unit.

"A section of people has taken plots on some industrial estates in north Bengal many years ago but have only put boundary walls on the land instead of setting up industrial units. Our government is preparing a land bank to provide land across the state, as per the requirements of prospective investors. We want these people, who have not used their land, to come up with new units as there is no point in keep such plots unutilised," said Ghosh.

He was speaking at a business meet organised by the Merchants Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) at the auditorium in Uttarkanya on Friday.

In course of his speech, the minister also spoke about the prospective industries which can come up in north Bengal, particularly because of its geographical proximity with the entire northeast and four neighbouring countries.

"There are several thousands of people from north Bengal district who have been working in different industrial segments in other states. We want to create employment opportunities for them here. As they have been working for years, they have become skilled workers now," mentioned Ghosh.