The West Bengal Government has decided to invest Rs 540 Cr for infrastructural development of Calcutta Leather Complex situated at Bantala in South 24 Parganas District.
The complex which has been renamed as Karma Diganta is considered Asia’s first integrated leather complex.
The tanneries from Kolkata, Kanpur and Chennai are being shifted to the leather complex to take advantage of modern infrastructure. At present, 385 tanneries and 40 leather Goods units are operational.
The present turnover of Karma Diganta is over Rs 13,000 Cr. The State Government is aiming to raise the target to Rs 30,000 Cr in the next five years.
Earlier in JUly Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated a slew of new projects and laid the foundation stone of many others at Asia’s first “Integrated Leather Complex” in Bantala, the completion of which would generate 5 lakh employment in the near future.
The Chief Minister said that her government has already set up infrastructure, roads to make the project a big success. She also mentioned that many tannery owners from Kanpur have shifted their business to Bengal and many others are contacting the state government expressing their desire to move their units here.
“Our government has announced special concessions for those tannery owners who are shifting their units in the state from Uttar Pradesh. After demonetisation, we have received several such requests. Those from Bengal who are willing to buy plots at the Integrated Leather Complex will also be given incentives. They will be given plots at low rates. The project is an asset to the state,” said Banerjee
The Chief Minister also instructed the local administration to cover the entire area with CCTVs and to set up a monitoring cell to ensure the smooth running of the complex. She also proposed to construct a bus stop after the same name as the project at Bantala. The area would be connected to other parts of South 24-Parganas, North 24-Parganas and Kolkata through more bus routes. She inaugurated the leather goods park and the training services centre. Six buses were handed over to the Calcutta Leather Complex authorities for ferrying its employees from one place to another. She also laid the foundation of a footwear park, a micro tanners’ hub spread over 10 acres, a secured landfill site for solid waste management, a sewerage treatment plant and a leather scrap burner to check pollution.