Take for instance the case of Karnataka. If the owner of a sick unit in that province wants to sell the surplus land he or she can choose the buyer and conclude the deal. No third party intervenes in the process. But here in West Bengal the Industrial Reconstruction Department has constituted an Asset Sale Committee to supervise each step of such a transaction. The seller and the proposed buyer are required to explain the reasons for the sale and purchase of land of the unit before the Asset Sale Committee which then sends its recommendation to the State Government on the basis of which the deal is cleared. But the State Government’s or Industrial Reconstruction Department’s role does not end there. The Department sees to it that the purpose of land transfer is met and production is resumed with the money available from the land sale. The Minister For Industrial Reconstruction, Government of West Bengal, is confident that this process will create new opportunities for the revival of sick industries.

Not only sick industries, closed industries will also be entitled to benefits of surplus land sale for their revival. Such units would have to first approach the Government’s Urban Development Department and then convince the Assets Sale Committee of the Industrial Reconstruction Department about the prospects of industrial revival with the help of the proceeds from the land-sale. Headed by the Secretary of the Industrial Reconstruction Department, this Committee includes an officer of the Urban Development Department and a representative of bank or financial institution. The Assets Sale Committee gives proper hearings to both the buyer and purchaser of the land and is entrusted to maintain maximum transparency with regard to how much surplus land is being sold and at what price. The Committee’s final recommendation guides the Urban Development Department to decide if the land transfer is to be permitted. The proceeds from land-sale will then be deposited with a specified financial institution with the full knowledge of the Industrial Reconstruction Department of the State Government. Trade union representatives of the concerned unit are taken into full confidence in the whole process.

The State Government continues to keep a close watch on what is done upon the completion of land transfer of a closed unit. It assesses the exact amount immediately required for the revival of the unit and that sum is then advanced to the owner of the unit concerned. If the full amount of sale money is not required for revival, the balance is kept aside for future expansion or setting up of a new unit by the owner of he revived unit. The State Government deducts a service charge for its involvement in the whole process. This amount is deposited with the Industrial Reconstruction Corporation that is designed to play the role of a nodal agency in all such land deals concerning the closed industrial units.