Govt mulls single window clearance for film units
Producers, who wish to shoot in West Bengal, may soon be spared from the hassles of obtaining permission from various agencies.
Producers, who wish to shoot in West Bengal, may soon be spared from the hassles of obtaining permission from various agencies.
Where on the one hand, chief minister Mamata Banerjee is desperately trying her best to attract industrialists to invest in West Bengal, on the other, in order to attract film units from other parts of the country, the state tourism department is planning to introduce a single window clearance system for film producers.
“With the system in place, filmmakers willing to shoot in the state will be able to get clearance from a single place instead of running from one office to another,” tourism minister Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury said.
Under present system, production houses who want to shoot in Bengal have to take permission from various agencies.
“They have to take permission from the police, the local civic body where the shooting would take place, the owners of the land and many other agencies,” Chowdhury said.
“This is a tiring process. Therefore, in order to make it a hassle-free one, we are planning to introduce a single window clearance system. This will save a lot of time for both the government as well as the film units,” Chowdhury added.
“Recently, when we were in Mumbai for a tourism programme, we had already informed some filmmakers and producers about our initiative,” the tourism minister said.
The long procedure of obtaining permission from various agencies eat up a lot of time and is a huge hindrance in attracting production houses to shoot in the state.
“Suppose you plan to shoot at the dock, you have to take permission from Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT). And then if you want to shoot at Rajarhat, you must get the nod from HIDCO. These are besides the permission one needs to obtain from the police and local civic body,” Arindam Sil, the executive producer of the film Kahani and the owner of production house Nothing Beyond Cinema, said.
A single window clearance is a great idea, he said, adding that the government should also make sure that film units are not disturbed by locals.
“At times, local hooligans demand donations from units. Steps should be taken to control these miscreants,” he added.
Such a single window system exists in foreign countries where you have to take permission only from the mayor, Sil added.
“I had come up with such a suggestion at a FICCI meeting. It would be really good if such a thing happens here,” the actor added.
