West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta presents the state’s first full budget for FY 2026-27 in the assembly (file photo)
| Photo Credit:
ANI
West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta on Friday said the government will “scrap” the Urban Land Ceiling Act to attract big-ticket investments in the State.
Speaking at an event organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dasgupta indicated that the government would initiate all the reforms which are required so that the State achieves the highest growth rate among Indian states in the next four years.
“We have taken certain important initiatives in terms of reform. We are going to scrap the Land Ceiling Act, which has been a recurrent demand. We are going to make it easier for people who invest Rs 1000 crore plus to get over all those various clearances,” the finance minister said.
Notably, presenting the State Budget on Monday, Dasgupta said the government would ‘re-examine’ the Urban Land Ceiling Act. He had described the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, as a major bottleneck to attracting large-scale investments in the State.
On Friday, the FM said Bengal can witness the highest growth rates in India in the next four years, given an “enabling” framework provided by the government. “Apart from sops, we need an environment which is friendly towards business. We are banking on growth and banking on people like you (industrialists) to optimise our potential. Bengal will be back with a bang, and I hope all Bengalis will take full advantage of that,” he added.
“Thematic analysis points to a decisive shift in the FY27 Budget towards investment-led growth and economic transformation. Themes relating to investment, governance, fiscal management, technology, entrepreneurship, tourism and climate resilience (that were hitherto absent in earlier budgets in terms of focus) assume greater prominence, suggesting a strategic reorientation of the budget discourse towards industrialisation, productive capacity creation, and long-term growth acceleration,” SBI Research said in its report on the West Bengal budget for financial year 2026-27.
Significantly, the West Bengal government is working on framing the necessary rules to incentivise fresh investment in the State, and at the outset, such incentives are expected to be on par with those of neighbouring States like Odisha and Assam to ensure a level playing field for attracting investment.
Published on June 26, 2026
