Luck shines on West Bengal again, Hill Business Summit brings Rs 1,500 crore investment proposals
Mamta Banerjee’s government might not have many admirers, but it does have lady luck smiling on it. At the Hill Business Summit in West Bengal’s Darjeeling, several businesses offered investment proposals worth a total of Rs 1,500 crore.
“My industry friends held discussions and agreed to invest over Rs 1,500 crore in the Darjeeling region. There are so many areas like agriculture, eco-tourism, tea, transport, horticulture, medicinal plants, orchids, and home-stay tourism where we can work better,” explains West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamta Banerjee. The business summit in Darjeeling was first of its kind, according to the CM.
The summit was a success, thanks to the state government’s initiatives and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. Darjeeling is a famous hill station where both international and national tourists come to escape the summer blues. Witnessing the potential of Darjeeling, Mamta Banerjee said that tourism-related industries were sparsely explored in Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Kalimpong.
Luxmi Group, the owner of Makaibari Tea Estate, will provide an investment of Rs 300 crore in the coming years. Keventer Group has also shown interest in investments around the Darjeeling region. Educational infrastructure will be increased in the region as the Presidency University will establish its Himalayan Centre here.
Investment in West Bengal is a new trend that tycoons like Mukesh Ambani, Rajesh Adani, and Sanjiv Goenka are exploring. Earlier in January, Kolkata hosted the Bengal Business Summit. The meeting introduced West Bengal government to investments worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore from various businesses. These companies included Adani Group, Reliance Industries, JSW Steel, Future Group, and RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group.
While Reliance Industries has promised an investment of Rs 5,000 crore, Adani Group will be focusing Rs 750 crore on various ports and the Haldia Oil Refinery. The Bengal Global Summit also invited a host of international delegates from France, China, the UK, Japan, Germany, and more.
Fresh news deems West Bengal as the numero uno state, where employment generation is on the rise. The opportunities bestowed by the investments above will further increase the numbers. West Bengal has created 30.98 crore person days under the assistance of the 100 days work scheme. This is the highest in the country.
While the numbers and the interest of business juggernauts may be turning things around for West Bengal, it still needs to work on establishing communal harmony. Clashes and riots are mainly being spread by illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. If it wishes to keep West Bengal’s progress stable, Mamta government needs to remove the berserkers who are threatening the fabric of secularism in West Bengal.
