While the state government wants the land to be given to the co-operative society that was formed to run the two units, the Centre wants to sell the two plots — one at Lalkuthi and other at Ranigunj — so that the units as well as the BSCL could be revived again.

Joint Secretary (Union Ministry of Heavy Industries) Ambuj Sharma on Tuesday met Subrata Gupta, Principal Secretary, Department of Public Sector Enterprise of the West Bengal government at the latter’s office in Kolkata on Tuesday.

The officials failed to reach a consensus at the meeting as the state government stood firm on the issue of getting back the land. “However, we will sit again and take a decision,” said Sharma after the meeting.

According to sources, the state government also wants the Centre to repay Rs 7.50 crore loans that it gave to the units for their revival.

The BSCL was formed during British Raj by eminent industrialist Sir R N Mukherjee. It consisted of two railway wagon-manufacturing factories at Howrah and Burnpur, and seven refractory units. Out of that, only two wagon-manufacturing units and one refractory unit at Salem are currently functioning. The company was declared a sick unit in 1992.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has also sent a proposal to the Centre asking it to take over the two units where 4,000 people work.

On March 18 this year, Bnegal’s minister for commerce and industries Nirupam Sen wrote a letter to Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise Vilasrao Deshmukh asking him to hand over the two lands.