West Bengal’s land and land reforms department has ordered the creation of a land bank in Birbhum to identify plots suitable for industry and support efforts to attract investment to the mineral-rich district, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Bengal.
The instruction was issued by minister of state Dipankar Jana during a meeting with district land department officials in Suri. The meeting was attended by the district magistrate, the District Land and Land Reforms Officer and Block Land and Land Reforms Officers from all 19 blocks in Birbhum.
The proposed land bank is expected to record where government land is available, which parcels may be suitable for industrial use and how they can be put to productive use. The minister said the exercise was being undertaken against the backdrop of Birbhum’s mineral resources and industrial potential, while efforts were under way to bring several companies to the district.
The department has also sought detailed information on land distributed through pattas over the past 15 years. Officials have been asked to document where such land was allocated, in whose names the pattas were issued and which eligible beneficiaries have not yet received them. The report said the information must be compiled in name-wise lists and submitted to the district administration.
The dual exercise places industrial land identification alongside a review of land distribution. That means the administration will need to distinguish between land that may be available for industrial purposes and land already assigned, or intended to be assigned, to beneficiaries. The report does not provide the total area of land to be included in the proposed land bank or identify specific industrial projects linked to it.
Jana told reporters after the meeting that the state government was already in contact with industrial organisations and was trying to bring several established companies to Birbhum. The land bank is intended to provide detailed information on the location and characteristics of land before investment proposals are advanced, according to the report.
The move comes as the state government seeks to promote fresh industrial investment. Sangbad Pratidin reported that several companies had invested in West Bengal in recent months and that other businesses had expressed interest in investing in the state. It also reported that a new Haldia Petrochemicals plant was scheduled to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on October 14, with a new industrial policy expected after the festive period.
For Birbhum’s district administration, the immediate task is therefore administrative rather than construction-related: assemble verified land records, map government holdings, review patta distribution and identify parcels that can legally and practically support industry. The next public milestones will be the submission of the land information to the district administration and the state’s proposed industrial policy announcement after the puja period.
