Industrialists allege harassment by PSIEC

Local industrialists are upset with the state government’s sluggish approach to promoting the industry. They rued several of their projects were pending with various departments and that to make matters worse, the government had imposed additional financial burdens in the form of high power bills, and cancer and development tax. In this context, they have expressed a feeling of suffocation in their ability to work or advance their enterprises.

Pankaj Sharma, president of the Association of Trade and Industrial Undertaking (ATIU), told The Tribune that the industry was suffering a great deal as a result of Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation’s (PSIEC) actions.

Reportedly, some plot allotments had been cancelled. “The department says there is no production taking place in these plots. And when the owners provide production details, power bills, and so on, the department marks the issue as pending. This attitude of the PSIEC has irked some 100 industrialists in the Focal Points. We request the government refrain from harassing the industry in this manner and allow it to prosper and grow,” Pankaj Sharma said.

He added that the PSIEC charged a high transfer fee of Rs 7,500 per sq yard and Rs 15,000 for the circle rate. Moreover, this much has to be given to the department even if the plot is freehold.

SC Ralhan, former president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said the PSIEC allotted the plots and the units paid the sewerage tax and other taxes to the MC as the former had handed over the role of maintenance to the latter. “Today, the industry is in a bad state because Focal Points are in a state of neglect. They are simply unwilling to perform their duty,” Ralhan added.

The industrialists also complained that the PSIEC was not approving the maps, causing industrial development to stall. Further, the business community claimed they were being harassed by being entangled in old VAT cases.

“There is open corruption in the name of single window, and the departments themselves have rejected more than half of the applications in the government’s own Green Stamp Paper Scheme. The GST Department has given a free hand to those doing illegal business in the state. However, last year, more than 50,000 notices were served to those doing legitimate business,” Jindal rued.