Kolkata’s KLC tanners urge state minister to clear encroachments

Representatives of the Calcutta Leather Complex Tanners’ Association (CLCTA) have approached West Bengal Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Ashok Dinda, seeking government intervention to clear alleged illegal encroachments and resolve critical infrastructure issues at the Kolkata Leather Complex (KLC) in Bantala.

According to the association, these obstructions have halted essential development work and compromised the competitiveness of the state's leather sector. As per local media reports, the demands were raised during the MSME department’s first business review meeting at Shilpa Sadan.

Traders reported that over 1,000 illegal encroachments, alongside unauthorized vehicles like cycle vans, are actively blocking the construction and maintenance of roads, drainage networks, and civic infrastructure inside the complex.

Association members underlined that the persistent deficiencies over the last two years, specifically regarding water supply, road conditions, solid waste drainage, and the common effluent treatment plant, have severely disrupted business operations.

The delegation also requested the minister's assistance in establishing a hospital and a fire station within the hub, noting that land for these utilities had already been earmarked during the initial conceptualization of the complex. CLCTA General Secretary Asif Iqbal stated that prolonged infrastructure failures have led to significant financial losses for tannery owners by hindering production, slowing exports, and damaging buyer confidence.

“The industry has suffered because of persistent problems relating to water supply, roads, the treatment plant and drainage," Iqbal said. "These challenges have impacted our international business and buyer relationships. We also lost the Leather Working Group certification, which greatly strengthened the credibility of the Kolkata Leather Complex in global markets.” The Leather Working Group (LWG) certification is a globally recognized sustainability benchmark that validates environmentally responsible manufacturing practices for international buyers.

Conceived in the mid-1990s under the then Left Front government, the KLC spans approximately 1,100 acres at Bantala. It was established to relocate nearly 600 tanneries from Kolkata's densely populated Topsia, Tangra, and Tiljala neighborhoods following environmental concerns and judicial directives. The site was equipped with shared infrastructure, including a centralized effluent treatment plant, to ensure compliant processing. In 2006, an estimated 130 acres within the zone were designated for information technology industries; however, these IT operations were relocated to New Town in 2019.

Minister Dinda assured the tanners of full cooperation from the state government. Industry stakeholders expressed optimism that state intervention will accelerate the clearance of encroachments and fast-track long-overdue infrastructure upgrades necessary to restore the cluster’s standing in domestic and global markets.