Kolkata: The projects proposed by Infosys Technologies and Wipro in a township just outside the state capital has been scrapped, the West Bengal government informed the two IT majors on Monday.
The projects were to come up in the proposed IT township at Rajarhat near Salt Lake but had become controversial in recent weeks following allegations that land sharks had been involved in acquisition of plots there.
The announcement on Monday came barely a month after state IT MInister Debesh Das declared that the government had already acquired land for the Infosys and Wipro in the proposed township.
West Bengal will be left out of IT boom: Congress
Congress leader Manas Bhuniya on Monday lamented the fact that youths of the state would not be able to see the light of the IT boom.
"This decision to scrap the project will again push back West Bengal in industrialisation. Thousands of young people of our state will ultimately suffer due to this decision," the state Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader said at a media meet.
Holding Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee responsible for the "mess", he demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Vedic Village land controversy that has led to the scrapping of the IT project at Rajarhat in Kolkata's northeastern fringes.
"The Vedic Village land controversy has brought out the deep nexus of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) cadres with the administration and the local mafia over the land handover issue.
"We think until and unless the CBI carries out an enquiry, the fact will not surface before the common people. I'll talk to the senior leadership of the Congress regarding the issue," he added.
IT hub scrapping sad day for West Bengal: Infosys official
Infosys board member T V Mohandas Pai on Monday said the West Bengal government's decision to scrap a proposed IT hub project on the state capital's northeastern fringes was a "sad day" for the state.
"It is a very sad day for West Bengal. The projects in the IT hub would have generated large number of jobs for the educated middle class youth of the state," Pai, who is also director of Human Resource at the IT bellwether, told a regional news channel Chabbish Ghonta.
Companies like Infosy, Wipro, ITC Infotech had chalked out plans to set up units in the proposed IT hub.
Terming the decision by the state government as "totally not the right thing to do," Pai said the project could have generated 50,000-100,000 jobs.
The proposed IT township at Rajarhat near Salt Lake had become controversial following allegations that land sharks - allegedly backed by promoters of Vedic Realty - had been involved in land acquisition.
"The government should take the pivotal role in land acquisition for any important project," Pai said.
Asked whether he is hopeful of returning to the state later, Pai said: "No, I am not hopeful of returning to the state."
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