'The state government is unable to keep its promises. After the Tatas left Singur, this is virtually the last straw on the camel's back. We may have to look out elsewhere though we are keen on having a presence in Bengal too,' Pai noted.

With states vying for attracting investments and competing for human capital, Pai said employment generation was the responsibility of the respective governments to retain talent and check migration of jobs.

'We thought the Bengal government would stand by its commitment as we had shown lot of patience in getting the nod for investing in Kolkata. We are shocked by its retrograde step,' Pai lamented.

Companies like Infosy, Wipro and ITC Infotech had chalked out plans to set up units in the proposed IT hub.

Earlier, describing the decision as 'totally not the right thing to do,' Pai told a Bengali news channel in Kolkata that the project could have generated 50,000-100,000 jobs.

'The government should take the pivotal role in land acquisition for any important project,' Pai told 'Chobish Ghonta', the 24x7 regional news channel.

Asked if his company was hopeful of returning to the state later, Pai said: 'No, I am not hopeful of returning to the state.'

IT bellwether Wipro, which already has a presence in Kolkata, declined to respond to the development and its officials were unavailable for comments.