Wipro's Bengal project gets new site

KOLKATA,Oct 30 2009: Wipro has decided to come back to Kolkata at the alternative site offered by the state government, much to the relief of the West Bengal government. Wipro’s confirmation has come in less than a month time of West Bengal government scrapping the much-hyped IT Park project which was supposed to IT biggies Wipro and Infosys.

Wipro officials on Friday met the Managing Director, Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) and formally communicated their consent to take possession of the alternative land (50 acre) albeit at a concessional price. On September 7, West Bengal government had scrapped its much-hyped ‘Kolkata Link’, a modern IT infrastructure project, over a land scam. On September 17, FC reported that West Bengal government offered alternative lands to Wipro and Infosys. The alternative land is also at New Town, Rajarhat.

Wipro officials also met the state IT minister Debesh Das. “They told me that they would like to develop a world class state of the art facility at this parcel of land,” Das said. "The people of several walks of life indeed want to see WIPRO to expand and Infosys to step into the state. The decision of WIPRO to start its second campus in West Bengal is quite encouraging. As said by WIPRO, I believe that this facility will augment the employment opportunity of the state to a considerable extent and will boost up the economic activities in the state. It will pave the way for the young aspiring techies of the state to be employed in their own state after their studies," Das added.

The new plot, offered to Wipro is just 15 minutes drive from the airport and on the side of a 6-lane road. It is within a complete modern township with all facilities. It may be noted that in the vicinity of this area, about 300 acres of land has already been allotted for IT and IT infrastructure companies.West Bengal government has also offered alternative location to Infosys as well. However, there has been no official communication from Infosys in this regard so far.

West Bengal offers land to Wipro and Infosys

KOLKATA: September 17, 2009: The West Bengal government will formally invite information technology majors — Wipro and Infosys — to take immediate possession of 45 acres of land being offered to each of them at Rajarhat on the outskirts of the city and start constructing their facilities there.

On September 7, the government had decided not to proceed with the proposed joint sector IT township in and around Rajarhat in the wake of allegations of illegal land deals by a private partner of the project.

“We are ready to give 45 acres of land to both the IT giants, Wipro and Infosys. We will contact them and ask them to come…The units they set up will create huge job opportunities – an estimated 16,000 jobs – within the next two to three years,” Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Thursday.

The State government will contact the two companies on Friday with the offer.

The sites identified for the two IT giants is in the custody of the State’s Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd and has adequate social infrastructure that will suit the interests of the two companies, Mr Bhattacharjee said. “The price of the land being offered to them will be negotiated with the companies,” he added. Both the IT majors have been keen to set up units in the State. “In the case of Wipro, which already has a facility in the city, it is a matter of expansion of their activities. As for Infosys, they have been very eager to come.”

Admitting that it was “unfortunate” that criminal activities “of which we had no idea earlier” were being engaged in for acquiring land for a section of the proposed joint sector IT township within which the two companies had earlier been offered 90 acres of land each, the Chief Minister said his government had decided that “it would not be morally correct” for it to go ahead with the project.