By IANS
Kolkata : West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said Indian companies interested in agro-retail should be allowed to set up outlets, albeit with some restrictions.
“We should allow big retail companies like Spencers, Reliance and Wal-Mart in agro-retailing business. I know Mittals have joined hands with Wal-Mart,” Bhattacharjee said at the national council meeting organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here Monday.
He said there should be certain restrictions in allowing these retail companies so that they cannot trade in food grains.
“Big retail stores should not be set up within city limits as it would add to more congestion. In the US and other foreign countries, all big retail stores are situated outside city limits,” Bhattacharya said.
Emphasising the importance of retail stores in the state, the chief minister said West Bengal produces about 11.6 metric tonnes of vegetables every year, of which 10-30 percent perish on the fields.
“The reason is we don’t have sufficient numbers of cold storages in our state,” he said.
“If these retail stores come up, many people would get jobs. But at the same time, thousands of small vegetable vendors will be jobless. Thus, we should move very cautiously,” he added.
Last week, the chief minister said the state government had allowed Metro Cash and Carry to do their agriculture wholesale business in West Bengal on an experimental basis.
The Forward Bloc, one of the main constituents of the Left Front government, has been opposing agro-retail business, fearing it would harm farmers in the state.
The Forward Bloc as well as the West Bengal State Marketing Board (WBSMB), an autonomous body under the ministry of state agricultural marketing, has objected to the entry of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance, apprehending its possible monopoly in the state’s agricultural retail business.