Infosys registers land in New Town for IT hub

Kolkata: In a major move, IT giant Infosys has registered the land it had earlier purchased in New Town to set up an IT hub. Senior officials of Infosys and Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) went to the office of the Registrar of Assurance and registered the land on March 14. The proposed IT Park is coming up on a 50-acre land.

Infosys had paid Rs 75.50 crore to HIDCO for a 50-acre land which was sold at Rs 1.51 crore per cottah. Though the land was purchased quite some time ago, the IT major did not register the land as some problems had cropped up. Several rounds of talks were held between the officials of HIDCO and Infosys to resolve the impasse. The opinion of the advocate general was sought in the matter and once the problems were ironed out, Infosys went ahead to complete the registration procedure.

A boundary wall will now be erected and once it is completed, Infosys will start construction of the structure and take 15 more months to start its full-fledged office. Infosys is likely to take formal possession of the land by March end and the construction of the office premises is likely to start by July- August. It will absorb 1,000 people in the first phase and invest Rs 100 crore in three years.

The setting of an IT hub by Infosys is likely to open a new chapter in the business scenario in Bengal. It may be mentioned that another IT major Wipro has also purchased a 50-acre land in New Town for Rs 75 crore but the land has not been registered yet. New Town which has already become an IT hub will get a major boost with the functioning of the office of Infosys.

It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is determined to make Bengal a major IT hub in the country has over and again requested the residents of the state who work in other parts of the country and world to come back to the state.

Over the years, New Town has come up as a major health and education hub. It is a green city with several steps taken to increase the green cover and conserve energy. Waste water has been recycled to water the roadside plants. Eco Park, the country's biggest urban park on a plot of 480-acre surrounded by 102-acre of water has drawn both domestic and foreign tourists. The Biswa Bangla Convention Centre is the biggest centre of its kind in the country.