'Petition By Industrialists Against Bengal Govt's Incentive Scheme Withdrawal Was Inevitable'

(MENAFN- IANS) Kolkata, Sep 17 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Wednesday, observed that the decision by a group of industrialists to approach the Calcutta High Court against the decision of the state government to revoke an industry incentive scheme in the state was inevitable.

The said scheme, meant for offering incentives by the state government, was introduced in the financial year 2001-02 by the previous Left Front government under the leadership of former West Bengal Chief Minister Late Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and the main aim of the scheme was to encourage industrial investments in the state.

However, in March this year, the state government passed a bill in the state assembly christened the Revocation of West Bengal Incentive Schemes and Obligations in the Nature of Grants and Incentives Bill, 2025, through which the incentives offered for so long to the existing industries in the state were withdrawn.

Earlier this week, a group of industrialists approached the Calcutta High Court against the decision to revoke incentives on the grounds that the state government's decision was“unconstitutional".

All the parallel petitions in the matter by the different industrialists would be heard together by the Calcutta High Court in November.

On Wednesday, the leader of the opposition said that when the incentives were withdrawn, he termed the decision as“disastrous” and“unconstitutional".

“This draconian bill, despite fierce opposition from BJP MLAs, got passed in March 2025 due to TMC's majority. TMC's arrogance prevailed and they shamelessly scrapped all industry incentives,” the leader of the opposition said on Wednesday, and claimed that industrialists have rightly approached the Calcutta High Court in the matter.

“This is a miscalculated blunder to drive out the few remaining industries from West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee's Government is turning our state into an industrial graveyard, betraying businesses that trusted West Bengal and created jobs for our people. By revoking incentives with retrospective effect, Trinamool Congress is scaring away investors and ensuring our youth are left jobless. This is not governance, it is economic sabotage,” the leader of the opposition claimed.

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