Grant SEZ status, or repay Rs 75 cr: Infosys to WB govt

Five months after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s refusal to grant Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status to the proposed IT park of Infosys in the city, the IT major has asked the state government to either give SEZ status or repay the money it had given in advance for the land.

“We have told the state government that it should either give us SEZ status or pay back the money which was advanced to get the land,” a senior Infosys official told a news agency.

Infosys had proposed to set up a software development centre at Rajarhat New Town in east Kolkata during the Left regime and had paid Rs 75 crore for the land at Rajarhat to HIDCO, the state-run development agency for the satellite township.
The Left Front government had promised Infosys that it would give SEZ status to the project which had the potential for creating 15,000 jobs.

In January, however, during a meeting between Banerjee and Infosys senior vice-president Ramadas Kamath, the chief minister flatly refused to grant the status. The disappointed authorities of Infosys had planned to scrap the project.

While this was supposed to be the first Infosys centre in the state, the state government’s attitude towards the project has left the IT major’s top management stumped. “Even if governments change, continuity in policies should not. We have immense faith in West Bengal,” a spokesperson said.

Talking about whether the company has taken a final call on withdrawing the project, sources said, “We hope the government will change its mind. We’re hopeful that the matter will be resolved.”

The IT firm’s co-founder, Narayana Murthy, was the first to express interest in investing in Bengal in 2005. In 2010, the firm got 50 acres of land for Rs 75 crore. The situation took a turn after Mamata Banerjee took over as Chief Minister in 2011 as her government refused to grant the SEZ status.