Nothing ever seems to move in Bengal

Arecent gathering of around 250 industrialists in Kolkata at the invitation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was one more occasion where Mamata Banerjee’s sincerity in taking the State forward was on full display. Come to think of it, despite all the negative vibes which burden the air whenever West Bengal’s economy is discussed, it is crystal clear that the Chief Minister is dead serious in discovering a way for the State’s resumption of growth. She exudes pristine sincerity and a rare enthusiasm when she asks people for assistance to get the State moving. It is, of course, quite another matter that nothing beneficial results from such exercises.

Right timing, wrong ‘process’

Naturally, the answer to this question of why the status quo persists is crucial, because it involves nothing less than the future of West Bengal. Here we have a political leader who was elected to power by an overwhelming majority, which, in effect, means that her Government can formulate the very toughest of decisions to get the State’s economy growing again and, what is more important, get those measures passed in the State Assembly. In other words, if West Bengal needed tough policy decisions to kick-start its economy, the present juncture is possibly the best political situation any Government could find itself in.

But nothing of the sort has happened in the State as yet, and the Chief Minister, after 18 months in power, is still pleading with industry to help her get things right.

Thus, at last week’s meeting she said: “We are creating a land bank. If you want to set up industry, come to us with the details. Please do not spend money on

dalals for land. Call us when you are in need”. But then, why does she have to do this when, as everyone knows, industry will not waste even half an opportunity to exploit a situation where, at the end of the day, some money can be made? Clearly, there is something wrong with the “process” which is not enthusing industry in general to take advantage of Mamata’s initiative.

Banking on land

The Chief Minister is aware of this very basic sentiment which is preventing West Bengal from starting the long journey to economic recovery. What then is preventing her from taking steps which will make industry fructify its investment plans in the State?

Take the land issue, which in recent days has once again been pushed into the forefront by the trouble which has broken out in Birbhum district regarding the price being paid by a corporate entity to landowners for an opencast coal mining project.

Very briefly, the central point is that the State government will have to play an important role in locating and getting land for investors, a proposition which till now has been flatly rejected by Mamata, who is adamant that the Government should not have any role to play beyond building up a land bank, from which land could be offered to intending investors. Without land, there can be no industrialisation of the State, and if there is no industrialisation, West Bengal cannot make any meaningful economic progress.

There really is no alternative for Mamata but to convince landowners in rural areas that, first, only a realistic and workable compensation regime can make potential investors buy land and, secondly, that the setting up of large industrial units will, without fail, improve their economic prospects in the not-so-long run. Clearly, the Government must lead from the front if Mamata Banerjee’s chief ministership is to leave the right sort of indelible mark on the history of West Bengal.