Govt all set to give industry a major push

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Bracing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s challenge to improve the “ease of doing business” index in Haryana, the government is likely to replace the tardy permission mechanism with self-certification and third-party verification.

The government is also mulling over to introduce an effective single-window clearance and ease the power tariffs to incentivise the industry.

“Our industrial policy will be out in just over a fortnight, which will facilitate and attract business. While the draft policy was discussed with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar yesterday, we will be uploading it on the website to invite public response before finalising it,” Haryana Finance and Industries Minister Capt Abhimanyu said.

On the anvil, as priority, is single-window clearance for business projects within a stipulated time-frame. The single-window set up nearly two years ago under the previous government did not clear even a single project.

“We intend to make clearances time-bound and fix responsibility for delays. We have provided for ‘deemed clearance’ if no action is taken within the stipulated time,” the Finance and Industries Minister said.

With a vision to make Haryana a preferred industrial destination while ensuring growth and employment generation, the government wants to focus on balanced regional development of the state.

Though no formal ranking is available on the ease of doing business for Haryana compared to other states, the leadership has reasons to believe it is one of the “laggard” states.

“The new industrial policy will win investors’ confidence. We have brought all state departments on board and aligned all processes to achieve that. We have had a few brain-storming sessions with the department heads and explained our goals. Our initiatives are bound to bear results,” the Finance and Industries Minister said.

By replacing government certification with self-certification, the government is keen on introducing third-party verification by setting up panels for it. Also, under the new policy, the stress will be on promotion of local resources and local employment.

While existing industrial clusters will be strengthened, new ones will be identified to promote, support and incentivise the industry.

After a meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to deliberate on the new policy, the Industries Department is likely to give some relaxation in power supply to the clusters.

“The Chief Minister is keen on incentivising industry and making suggestions for the power sector. We are looking at the bulk distributor policy for the clusters to bring down power rates, while providing cheaper power to the industry during non-peak hours. This is under consideration,” the Finance and Industries Ministeradded.

Capt Abhimanyu that all these measures are bound to improve Haryana’s ranking on the ease of doing business index.