West Bengal govt asks Infosys to come up with alternative to SEZ plan

KOLKATA: Assuring all help to Infosys, the West Bengal government today asked the IT major to come out with an alternative plan rather than seeking SEZ status for its unit at Rajarhat.

"I talked to Infosys officials today and asked them to come out with (an alternative) proposal instead of asking for SEZ status and the government will try to accommodate them as early as possible," state Industry and IT Minister Partha Chatterjee said on the sidelines of a Realty Expo programme.

The minister had earlier said the state government's stand was that it would not encourage any SEZ in the state.

"I told them if they want, they can meet the chief minister," he added.

The Bangalore-based IT major Infosys had recently written a letter to HIDCO urging SEZ status for the unit. HIDCO, the housing development arm of the state government, allotted 50 acres of land at Rajarhat to the company.

Asked about Wipro, Chatterjee said, "Lets first solve the Infosys issue. Wipro has not yet fully paid for the land given to it."