The state government is keen on setting up industrial parks or MSME units on lands occu- pied by shut central PSUs.

The state industries depart- ment has asked the district magistrates to identify non- agricultural lands along the industrial corridor.

The proposed corridor will cover seven districts, namely, East and West Burd- wan, Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapore, Howrah and Hooghly.

The state government has proposed to set up an indus- trial park on 166 acres of land of Durgapur Projects.

Again it has got 191.06 acres of land of Dhakesh- wari Cotton Mills.

The land has been pro- cured by the West Bengal Industrial Development Cor- poration ( WBIDC) where an industrial park will come up.

The state government has 81.04 acres of land at Mangalpur in West Burdwan.

It has 541 acres of land of HCL and another 193 acres of land of Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation in Durgapur.

Vast lands belonging to closed central PSUs like Hi dusthan cables, Cycle Corporation of India and Burn Standard are lying unutilised.

The state government has already set up a land bank and requested the industrialists to buy land from the bank.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has said over and again that the state govern- ment would provide every assistance to the industrialists. She told the industrialists that the environment in West Bengal was congenial for investment.

Dr Shashi Panja, state industries minister, said the main thrust area was now the MSME units.

West Bengal was doing very well in the MSME sec- tor and startups, she said. Chief minister Mamata Baner- jee had recently announced that the state government would give Rs 2 lakh as loan to the youths to start their own business