The Hindu Business Line : Opening up of Nathu-la pass worries Buddhadeb

The West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has expressed concern that opening up of Nathu-la land trade route may pose a threat to the traditional small and cottage sector industries in the State due to dumping of Chinese products.

He was especially worried about the prospects of the raw silk industry in West Bengal vis-à-vis the highly mechanised silk production in China. The State Government has already decided to set up a task force to explore means to modernise the State silk industry.

Luring investors

Addressing a workshop on the schemes and programmes for development of micro and small-scale industries in West Bengal here on Saturday he said, "After the opening of Nathu-la, China may dump their products on a large scale in the State. This will be disastrous."

Meanwhile, the State Government has promised to offer free land to investors for setting up plastics industry in the backward districts of Midnapore, Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar.

"We will offer 400 to 500 acres for free to any investor willing to set up plastics industry in Midnapore, Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar districts," the Chief Minister said. Plastics industry in Midnapore could cater to the markets in Bihar and Jharkhand. On the other hand, industries in Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar can access the North Eastern states.

More Opportunities

Both Bihar and North Eastern States have huge appetite for plastic goods especially in the footwear segment.

Reiterating his Government's commitment to the agri-processing sector, the Chief Minister said that a number of fruit processing units have already come up in the North Bengal districts of Jalpaiguri, Malda and Dinajpur.

Mr Bhattacharjee was hopeful that the proposed investment by Tata Motors in Singur would open new opportunities for small engineering, machine tools and foundry sectors in the State.