Kolkata: The West Bengal government is contemplating leveraging idle and unused lands belonging to defunct pharma companies to bolster the healthcare and education infrastructure in the state.
This redevelopment exercise will include closed PSUs like Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) and Bengal Immunity. As part of a bigger exercise, the idle real estate assets of other defunct companies will soon be added to the fold.
Similar exercises are also being carried out simultaneously by the Telangana and Uttarakhand governments. NIPER, a government-owned pharma research body, is involved in redevelopment of the land in Hyderabad.
The Bengal government believes its plan to repurpose idle assets could prove to be a strategic masterstroke. Not only does this page way for productive usage, but it also bolsters the healthcare and education sectors.
The National Company Law Tribunal has recently cleared the legal obstacles behind the redevelopment exercise. This has led to an alignment in infrastructure between optimising idle assets and addressing gaps in education and healthcare.
