This will put an end to the current stalemate between the IT companies and the West Bengal government. “We hope to be able to offer the land to the companies within a month or two,” he added.

“We have been on the lookout for land at those prices for long but were not getting it. But now, we are hopeful that things will work out,” Siddharth said.

The delay had irked top Infosys official T V Mohandas Pai, who had criticised the government’s slow pace saying it will hurt the state’s image as an investment destination.

Pai had also said Infosys was paying Rs 20 to 50 lakh per acre in other states and expected “reasonable prices” in West Bengal as well.

The government’s efforts appear to have gained fresh momentum after Wipro chief Azim Premji met Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in December last year.

When contacted, president of Wipro’s enterprise solutions division, Sudip Banerjee, said: “The government has said they will let us know very soon. That is all we know at this point.”

Wipro has been scouting for around 52 acres near its existing facility at Salt Lake Sector V for the last three years, but the state government and the company could not arrive at an agreement on the price.

While land was being offered to Wipro at around Rs 1.5 crore per acre at Rajarhat, the company was only willing to spend Rs 60-65 lakh per acre.