UT mulls easing regulations to create biz-friendly ecosystem
In a bid to create a business-friendly environment, the Central Government has initiated measures to relax zoning norms, simplify land use change procedures and digitise regulatory approvals in the UT.
The first meeting of the Chandigarh Compliance Reduction and De-Regulation Task Force, spearheaded by the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, was held today to streamline business regulations, enhance the ease of doing business and improve urban planning frameworks in the city.
The meeting was co-chaired by SCL Das, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, and Rajiv Verma, Chief Secretary, Chandigarh. Das, who has been tasked with driving the de-regulation initiative for Chandigarh, highlighted the government’s focus on reducing compliance burdens across key areas such as land use, building regulations, labour laws, utilities and permissions.
The discussions during the meeting emphasised relaxing zoning norms, simplifying land use change procedures, and digitising regulatory approvals to create a business-friendly environment while maintaining the city’s planned development ethos.
Key points discussed during the meeting were introduction of flexible zoning norms to facilitate mixed-use development, relaxation of floor area ratio restrictions for construction projects and integration of third-party inspections within existing regulatory frameworks, permission for night-time employment for women, proposal to increase working hours and simplify industrial layoff regulations under labour law reforms, faster approvals for industrial licences, fire NOCs and environmental clearances through an integrated single-window system and a proposal to integrate Chandigarh’s GIS-based Master Plan with the PM Gati Shakti portal for efficient land use planning.
The task force will continue to monitor implementation progress and propose further simplifications to create a more conducive business ecosystem in the UT.
The meeting, convened by Nishant Kumar Yadav, Secretary, Industries-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, saw participation of Finance Secretary Diprava Lakra, Home Secretary Mandeep Singh Brar, Education Secretary Prerna Puri and Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar.
Das was accompanied by Anuja Bapat, Deputy Director General, Ministry of MSME, Nayantara Sasikumar, Director, Ministry of MSME, Prerna Joshi, Director, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Anshuman Kamila, Deputy Director, Cabinet Secretariat, and Darpajit Sengupta, Young Professional, NITI Aayog.
