West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta has reiterated that the Urban Land Ceiling law “has to go”. He was speaking at the 24th CREDAI NATCON in Kolkata on Friday.

Dasgupta called the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, an “impediment and a deterrent to development”. He said some 1970s-era laws were still holding back development even though they had been scrapped elsewhere in the country. The law caps private ownership of vacant urban land.

The minister urged organised real estate developers to play a larger role in the state. He alleged that under previous dispensations the sector had been left in the hands of “sharks with political connections”. He called for full operation of RERA in Bengal to bring accountability.

Dasgupta said Kolkata and West Bengal offered major opportunities for redevelopment and modernisation after years of limited investment in housing and urban infrastructure. He said businesses primarily needed “peace, law and order” and efficient, impartial administration rather than specific incentives.

The state aims to achieve the highest growth rate among Indian states in the next four years. The FM had earlier promised in the budget to re-examine the land ceiling law to unlock developable land and attract large investments.