West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has said the state will unveil a new industrial policy before Diwali, with a proposed land policy and fresh incentives intended to attract industries and investment. The draft policy has already been submitted, according to Adhikari, who made the announcement while inaugurating a new plant in Haldia on Wednesday.
The proposed policy is expected to address two issues that have shaped industrial development in Bengal: access to land and the financial support available to companies setting up or expanding operations. Adhikari said the state government had started work on both areas and claimed that Bengal would become an investment destination within a year.
“We have started working. Within a year, Bengal will be the destination for investors and industrialists. They will all say let us go to Bengal,” Adhikari said. “The new industrial policy (draft) had been submitted. It includes a new land policy and incentives for industries. We are working on it. Before Diwali we will unveil it.”
The announcement comes against the backdrop of a dispute over industrial incentives in the state. The Mamata Banerjee government passed the Revocation of West Bengal Incentive Schemes and Obligations in the Nature of Grants and Incentives Act, 2025, which retrospectively withdrew industrial incentive schemes and financial benefits granted between 1993 and 2021. Several industrial groups and corporate houses criticised the move and approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging its retrospective application.
Adhikari also used the event to criticise previous industrial policies in the state. He said more than 50,000 industries had left Bengal during the 34 years of Left rule, attributing the exits to what he described as “ultra trade unionism”. He further alleged that no new industries arrived during the last 15 years of the Mamata Banerjee government because of its land policy, withdrawal of incentives and “syndicate raj”.
The Haldia event was centred on the inauguration of the country’s largest integrated phenol and acetone plant under Haldia Petrochemicals Limited. Adhikari said the project involved an investment of Rs 6,000 crore and would create direct employment for 600 people and indirect employment for another 1,000. The facility was presented as part of the state’s effort to expand industrial capacity and support domestic manufacturing.
The chief minister also said he would request Purnendu Chatterjee, founder-chairman of the Chatterjee Group and principal promoter and chairman of Haldia Petrochemicals Limited, to establish a data centre in Bengal. Adhikari said the government was open to proposals and advice from industrial promoters.
Other announcements included a 50-bed trauma centre with a burn unit in Haldia, which Adhikari said would be established by June next year. He said 90 acres had been allocated for a PepsiCo plant and 50 acres for a medical equipment manufacturing unit. He also said the state would participate in the bhoomi pujan of a Reliance Industries project after Durga Puja.
The immediate milestone for the proposed investment framework is the policy’s scheduled unveiling before Diwali. Its eventual impact will depend on the final land provisions, the design of the incentives and how the government implements them after notification.
