Facing criticism from Infosys and Wipro for effecting a steep hike in prices of land, West Bengal government has finally relented and decided to provide additional land at cheaper prices to these software firms for their proposed facilities close to the city.

Conceding that land required by Infosys and Wipro could not be allotted at Rajarhat as it was not available, Bengal Minister for Information Technology Debesh Das said here, on Saturday, that land for the IT majors will  be provided in the neighbourhood of Rajarhat. Infosys requires it for setting up its new campus while Wipro is keen to expand its existing facility.

However,Wipro was not willing to pay the land price as demanded by the government, he said. The government, sources say, had asked for Rs 1.5 crore per acre of land at Rajarhat which neither Infosys nor Wipro was ready to pay.

“We’ll hold talks with both the companies to resolve the issue,” he said.