A dull year for industry as govt failed to keep promises

If Industry’s views matter, then 2024 had been a year of “disappointment” as both Central and state governments failed to keep their promises. Tall claims were made by the governments, but little was delivered. The core issues of the industry were not addressed despite repeated attempts made by the industry. The meetings with higher-ups failed to bring the desirable results.

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The highs

The major positive thing for the industry has been that the Centre had put the road infrastructure on fast track. The newly built highways have given additional advantage to the Punjab industry due to which transportation of goods would take less time now. The transit time to Mumbai port would be reduced to less than half, feels the industry.

Interestingly, the GST Council has been very positive about the suggestions made by the industry, especially by the Association of Trade and Industrial Undertakings (ATIU) to streamline the GST slabs. It is likely that the notifications for the same will be announced in the next meeting of the council.

Both Income Tax and the GST Departments continued to crack whip on the tax evaders and revenue was generated through IT/GST raids from many violators in the city. In December itself, the state GST Department unearthed a bogus billing racket operating from the city, allegedly involving fraudulent transactions worth Rs 163 crore over the past two years.

The industry maintains that the recent notification to allow 2 per cent of the total power load in case of any violation in the industry has come as a breather. The notification was issued in the end of November. Earlier, in case of a violation the power supply to a particular unit was snapped.

The lows

The Centre failed to regulate the raw material prices due to lack of a proper policy, thereby leaving the garments, engineering and steel industry on its own. Due to this reason, the industry had to face tough times throughout the year.

The PSIEC cancelled the plot allotment of many units without giving prior notices, especially when these units were functional for more than two-three decades. Apart from that, the PSIEC also put an additional burden of 50% in case of change of ownership of the plot, making it difficult for the owners to sell their plots. It brought the development plans of the industry to a standstill.

Besides, lack of basic infrastructure continued to pose difficulties for the industry in industrial areas and focal points. The infrastructure could not be improved due to lack of funds. The roads, parks and sewer system remained in pitiable condition due to lack of funds. Garbage heaps can be seen in different parts of the Focal Point and industrial areas due to lack of garbage disposal plan of the MC.

At the end of the year in December, IT Department raided the premises of Dr Sofat - a leading gynaecologist in the city. Besides in October, the ED raided the premises of Hemant Sood, a close associate of former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Hampton Homes of MP Sanjeev Arora and the premises of Pradeep Aggarwal, a coloniser.