No new policy, Himachal Budget fails to impress industry

Solan, March 4

The industry was left high and dry, with neither any sop nor a new policy for its uplift announced in the Budget.

Though a slew of demands from various industrial clusters, like setting up an information technology (IT) park at Parwanoo, creating land bank for expansion of the industry etc were raised, none found any mention in the Budget.

With the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government entering the election year, investors were expecting some sops in power tariff, plot prices etc. They were also hoping for easing of procedure to facilitate sale of land under Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, which at present is a cumbersome process.

Key issues, like speeding up infrastructure development in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial cluster have failed to be addressed since the past several years.

The lone silver lining is the extension of the industrial policy-2019 till December 2022, a step hailed by the BBN Industries Association. It also welcomed an increase in the services provided under e-district portal from 96 to 150.

Rajinder Guleria, president, BBN Industries Association, said encouraging woman entrepreneurship by enhancing grant by 35 per cent under the existing scheme of Mukhyamantri Swabhlamban Yojana was a welcome step. —