Industrialists to get NOCs within 15 days, says Soni

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 20

Punjab Education and Environment Minister OP Soni has announced that no objection certificates (NOCs) would be issued to industrialists within 15 working days.

The minister was speaking during a ‘sanmaan samaroh’ (felicitation event) organised by the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) along over 74 associations from the state to felicitate him for becoming a Cabinet minister. He said XENs would be held responsible for delay, if any.

Discussing about the issues being faced by industrialists in the state, Soni said, “Punjab doesn’t enjoy privileges like those of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand so it has to survive on its own. The state government is all set to recover its losses. Industrialists and traders are the ones who will help the state stand on its feet. The minister said the tax payers were the government runners. Without taxes, a government can’t function. The largest tax payer group is the business community.”

According to Soni, the law is there to streamline the things but the officials and governments have been using the laws for their personal gains. “Since the induction of mine as a minister, I have made it clear to the staff to use law for the well-being of the industry and not to harass anyone,” he said.

PL Seth, leader of the PPBM, said, “Soni assured us that a meeting with the mandal would be arranged with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for our demands.”