Flipkart Arm’s Haringhata Land Deal Leaves ₹12.86 Crore Shortfall, CAG Flags

The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Limited (WBIDCL) suffered a loss of ₹12.86 crore due to the allotment of land to Instakart Services, Flipkart’s logistics arm, at the Haringhata Industrial Park in Nadia district, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged.

According to the CAG’s 2024 report on Public Sector Undertakings, the loss occurred because WBIDCL calculated the base price of the land without excluding large water bodies within the project site, in violation of its own pricing policy.

The state government had transferred 1,326.93 acres to WBIDCL for industrial purposes in 2017. The corporation subsequently acquired 358.19 acres for the Haringhata Industrial Park at a cost of ₹206.73 crore. In 2018, it fixed the land price at ₹63.49 lakh per acre for a 99-year lease.

Instakart sought 107.35 acres in September 2018 to establish a regional distribution centre, proposing an investment of ₹991 crore. The company was eventually allotted 109.12 acres for a total lease premium of ₹69.23 crore.

However, the CAG found that 55.89 acres of the industrial park comprised water bodies that could not be used for industrial development. This meant that the actual allocable area was only 302.299 acres. Based on WBIDCL’s own pricing policy, the base price should therefore have been ₹75.23 lakh per acre.

The auditor calculated that Instakart should have paid ₹82.09 crore, resulting in a shortfall of ₹12.86 crore to WBIDCL.

The West Bengal government said the ₹63.49 lakh rate had been approved by the corporation’s board and the Cabinet. The CAG, however, rejected the explanation, noting that it did not clarify why the agency had deviated from its pricing policy.

The auditor also cited laws protecting water bodies and a Supreme Court order concerning their preservation, concluding that the incorrect calculation of the land price had caused the financial loss.