Wipro accepts West Bengal's land offer

Wipro chairman Azim Premji along with officials of the company visited the plot, and also held a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the state secretariat Writers' Buildings.



 


IT services provider Wipro Technologies has accepted the West Bengal government's offer of 50 acres in Rajarhat on the outskirts of the city for setting up its second campus here.
Early Thursday, Wipro chairman Azim Premji along with officials of the company visited the plot, and also held a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the state secretariat Writers' Buildings.
"We went to see the land today. We liked it very much. We have also decided to purchase it," Premji told reporters after the parleys with the chief minister.
The land belonging to Housing Infrastructure Development Corp (Hidco) will be handed over to the IT giant for Rs.1.5 crore per acre.
Premji said his company would start work in 18 months. "The area is getting ready."
Three months back, the state government had to shelve the proposed township projects at Rajarhat after it cancelled land allotments to IT companies like Infosys and Wipro following allegations that land had been "forcibly" taken from locals.
The chief minister later said the government was ready to offer 45-acre each to Wipro and Infosys for starting new centres.
Wipro then wrote to the government Oct 30, seeking land at concessional price, following which it was offered the 50-acre plot.