Bizmen welcome new power tariff

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 17

City-based entrepreneurs have welcomed the decisions to reduce power tariff for industries to Rs 5 per unit and one time settlement of loans and other proposals of the state government.

Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) president PL Seth hoped that the new power tariff, to be implemented from November 1, will bring industrialists of Punjab at par with their counterparts in other states.

He said the new Industrial and Business Development Policy 2017 also proposed an IT hub for the holy city.

Already, Software Technology Park of India Centre has been sanctioned for the city. These projects would make the place a cyber city.

Amritsar Focal Point Industrial Association chairman, Raman Gupta said the policy proposed to strengthen existing industrial clusters as part of the Chandigarh-Amritsar urban industrial corridor plan.

He said there was a need to consolidate the surface infrastructure and civic amenities at existing industrial clusters.

Focal Point Industries Association president Kamal Dalmia said earlier, the state government had introduced the one-time settlement scheme for defaulters of the Punjab Finance Corporation (PFC) and this scheme lapsed on December 31, 2016.

Many units could not avail of the benefits of the scheme due to demonetisation, he said.

Now, these units stand a chance to take benefit from the one-time of settlement against loans taken from the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC) and Punjab Financial Corporation (PFC).