Study Reveals 2,227 Companies Relocated from West Bengal to Other States in Past Five Years
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Kolkata, Dec 4 (NationPress) A total of 2,227 companies have relocated their operations from West Bengal to other states over the past five years, from 2019 to 2024, according to data provided by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Out of the 2,227 companies, 39 are registered with the Mumbai Stock Exchange.
The information was shared following specific inquiries made by BJP Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya.
In a statement to IANS on Wednesday, Bhattacharya noted that he not only requested the numbers but also sought insights into the reasons behind these companies relocating to other states.
In response to this inquiry, the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs explained that under Section 13(4) of the Companies Act, 2013, corporate entities have the liberty to transfer their registration from one location to another for various reasons, including operational flexibility, effective management, lower administrative costs, and improved infrastructure.
Bhattacharya remarked that these statistics reflect a troubling lack of investor confidence. He stated, “It also proves how fruitless the annual extravagant Bengal Global Business Summit is. Investors have abandoned West Bengal as an investment destination for a long time. Now even existing investors have started quitting the state.”
According to him, the absence of a clear industrial policy from the state government is contributing to this negative trend. He added, “What happened over the proposed Tata Motors small car project at Singur in Hooghly district first eroded investors’ confidence. Now the anti-industry policies of the state government are prompting existing units to shift their bases.”
On the other hand, Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh contested the credibility of such statistics. He stated, “There was a setback during the COVID-19 lockdown period. However, after that, there have been improvements in both investments and employment generation in West Bengal.”
