Plea for hill investment sops

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Mar 9, 2018: Siliguri: Representatives of the business community and common people of the hills said the state government should offer some additional benefits to private investors to boost investments across the Darjeeling hills during the upcoming two-day business meet to be held in Darjeeling next week.

The state, as per its investment and industrial policy, offers an array of incentives for private investors intending to set up industrial units in the districts of north Bengal.

Among these are assistance on tax, waiver on electricity duty, land conversion fees and stamp duty and incentive on ESI and provident fund paid for employees engaged in industrial units.

"Investments can come to the Darjeeling hills in the field of education and tourism because the area is known for some of the finest educational institutions, hotels and resorts. But to bring in investments in other sectors, the principal competition is with Sikkim that offers a bouquet of subsidies and incentives. That is why to ensure that the Darjeeling hills enjoy a competitiveness vis-à-vis Sikkim, the state should come up with some more offers," said a senior industrialist based in Siliguri.

In Sikkim, there are several incentives for industrial units, including exemptions from excise duty, income tax, subsidies on capital investment, on the interest on working capital loan and also a subsidy in freight.

This is because Sikkim has been brought under the Centre's North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy in 2007.

"There is a longstanding demand that north Bengal, owing to its proximity with northeast, should be included under the policy. We have severally spoken and communicated on the issue and feel that the state should take it up with the Centre. It would then largely help north Bengal to get fresh private investments," said Biswajit Das, general secretary, Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry, North Bengal.

Das pointed that it is due to such incentives that Sikkim has witnessed a huge investment in the pharmaceutical sector.

At least 14 pharma companies have set up production units in the neighbouring state with investments of several hundred crores, he said.

Stakeholders of tourism industry, who are eagerly waiting for the meet to be organised jointly by the state and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) - chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself will be there at the meet - said they have high hopes that some fresh investments would come up in the sector.

"The state's consistent impetus on tourism has led to an unprecedented growth of the sector. The inflow of tourists has increased in hills and the state, on its part, has increased budgetary allocations for improvement of tourism infrastructure. We hope there will be some announcements for new investments in the sector during the meet," said Sandipan Ghosh, general secretary, Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators' Association.