West Bengal’s new industrial policy, including a proposed land policy and fresh incentives for industries, will be unveiled before Diwali, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Wednesday while inaugurating a plant in Haldia.
Adhikari said a draft of the policy had already been submitted and that work was under way on the proposed framework. “We have started working. Within a year, Bengal will be the destination for investors and industrialists,” he said at the inauguration of Haldia Petrochemicals Limited’s integrated phenol and acetone plant.
The proposed policy is expected to address two key issues for industrial projects in the state: access to land and the availability of financial and other incentives. The government has not yet released the draft or specified the sectors, eligibility conditions, approval process or financial commitments that will form part of the policy.
Adhikari said the policy would be unveiled before Diwali, but no specific date was announced. He described the government as “pro-people and pro-industry” and attributed Bengal’s earlier industrial decline to labour unrest, land policy and the withdrawal of incentives. He claimed that more than 50,000 industries had left the state during the 34 years of Left rule and that no new industries had come to Bengal during the subsequent 15 years under the Mamata Banerjee government.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of legal and industrial concerns over the West Bengal government’s Revocation of West Bengal Incentive Schemes and Obligations in the Nature of Grants and Incentives Act, 2025. The law retrospectively withdrew industrial incentive schemes and financial benefits granted in the state between 1993 and 2021. Several industrial groups and corporate houses challenged the retrospective withdrawal in the Calcutta High Court, arguing that it was unconstitutional.
The Haldia plant inaugurated during the event involves an investment of Rs 6,000 crore, according to Adhikari. It is expected to provide direct employment to 600 people and indirect employment to 1,000 people. The project is being developed under Haldia Petrochemicals Limited and was described by the chief minister as the country’s largest integrated phenol and acetone plant.
Adhikari also said the government would seek proposals from industrial groups for new projects, including a data centre in Bengal. He said he would request Purnendu Chatterjee, founder-chairman of the Chatterjee Group and principal promoter and chairman of Haldia Petrochemicals Limited, to consider establishing one in the state.
Other projects mentioned at the event included 90 acres allotted for a PepsiCo plant and 50 acres for a medical equipment manufacturing unit in Haldia. Adhikari said the government would participate after Durga Puja in the bhoomi pujan ceremony for a Reliance Industries project in Bengal.
The state government also announced plans for a 50-bed trauma centre with a burn unit in Haldia by June next year. The industrial policy draft, the final land rules, the incentive structure and the implementation timeline are expected to clarify how the government plans to attract new projects and support existing industries.
