Kolkata’s Leather Hub at Breaking Point: Tanners Demand Urgent Government Rescue

The Calcutta Leather Complex at Bantala — once billed as South Asia’s premier leather manufacturing hub — is crumbling under the weight of neglect. And the tanners who built its reputation are running out of patience.

At a tense business meeting organised by West Bengal’s MSME Department earlier this week, representatives of the Calcutta Leather Complex Tanners’ Association (CLCTA) laid out a blunt assessment: persistent infrastructure failures have crippled operations, eroded international credibility, and cast a shadow over the future of one of India’s most strategically important industrial clusters.

The numbers tell a grim story. Over the past two years, businesses inside the complex have grappled with chronic water shortages, deteriorating road networks, malfunctioning common effluent treatment facilities, and solid waste drainage systems that can no longer cope. These are not cosmetic complaints — they strike at the heart of a manufacturing ecosystem that depends on reliable utilities to meet export-quality standards.

The consequences have been severe and quantifiable. The complex has lost its Leather Working Group (LWG) certification, a globally recognised benchmark that gave Kolkata’s tanneries access to premium international buyers. For export-oriented manufacturers, losing LWG accreditation is not a slap on the wrist — it is an existential threat. Brands and retailers across Europe and North America increasingly mandate LWG-certified leather in their supply chains, and without that stamp of approval, Kolkata’s tanneries find themselves locked out of the world’s most lucrative markets.

Asif Iqbal, General Secretary of the CLCTA, did not mince words when addressing State Minister Ashok Dinda: “The industry has suffered because of persistent problems relating to water supply, roads, the treatment plant and drainage. These challenges have impacted our international business and buyer relationships.”

The tanners are not simply complaining — they are presenting a clear set of demands. Beyond fixing basic utilities, the association is pushing for two critical infrastructure projects that were part of the original master plan: a hospital and a fire station within the complex. Land for both was earmarked when the project was conceived, but neither has materialised after decades of operation.

Then there is the issue of illegal encroachments. The CLCTA has urged the government to clear unauthorised settlements that have mushroomed inside the complex, arguing that these encroachments have slowed infrastructure development and compromised the industrial character of the zone. For a government that has repeatedly positioned West Bengal as investment-friendly, allowing an industrial flagship to be colonised by illegal occupants sends precisely the wrong signal to both domestic and foreign investors.

Minister Dinda offered assurances of “full cooperation,” but the tanners have heard such promises before. What they need now is not rhetoric but action — cleared encroachments, repaired roads, reliable water, and a treatment plant that actually treats. The clock is ticking. Every day of inaction pushes Kolkata further behind competitors in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and increasingly assertive leather hubs in Bangladesh and Vietnam.

The stakes extend far beyond Bantala’s boundaries. West Bengal’s leather industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the value chain — from raw hide collection to finished goods manufacturing. If the government fails to act decisively, the cost will be measured not just in lost export orders, but in livelihoods destroyed and an industrial ecosystem that may never recover.

Source: https://leathernews.org/clc-tanners-association-urges-west-bengal-govt-to-remove-illegal-encroachments-and-improve-infra-inside-kolkata-leather-complex/