PRAGOTI

I completely agree with you. The harsh fact is that Bengal govt is in no position to set decent standards for private investments in the country. Given the strong neoliberal set up both globally and in India, the private investor clearly has the upper hand. If WB pushes for greater share in the profits for the local people, the investor would simply move to other states which offer liberal incentives (with the rulers enriching themselves in the process, damn the people).

Now, there is no gainsaying the fact massive industrialization is the only viable option for long-term economic health of the state. The revolutionary gains that we have made in the agrarian sector has run its course. The state govt is in no position at all to mobilize resources for making large scale public investments in industrial sector. I strongly feel the intellectuals do not really appreciate the completely unenviable position that the party and the government finds itself in.