Industry upbeat as more sops to boost trade announced by Punjab CM

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, September 16

The industry in Ludhiana, which is considered the industrial and business hub in the North, is upbeat as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced to roll out more sops for boosting trade in the state.

While most of the demands were met on the spot, Mann ordered the official machinery to take policy decisions for meeting pending issues being faced by industrialists.

The industry-friendly compounding policy, development of industrial parks, and one time settlement (OTS) scheme for Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) plot owners, issues concerning Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), including single point connections and making research and development centres and skill training centres more effective were among the major demands that the CM had agreed to fulfil shortly.

Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, who took up the issues on behalf of the industry, told The Tribune, here on Saturday that the Chief Minister took a favourable consideration of the demands and announced to issue notifications for the purpose.

Agreeing to the industry-friendly compounding policy, Mann said he had already approved the Cabinet memorandum to this effect presented by the Housing and Urban Development Department and the same would be approved in the next Cabinet meeting.

As per the new policy, compounding fee for industrial buildings outside municipal limits would be charged anywhere between Rs 15 to 20 per sq feet and it would be applicable from January 1, 2024. Till then, the existing policy would remain in place.

Flanked by his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, the CM also announced a robust industrial policy for the development of the industrial parks. “It will offer a host of benefits for setting up private industrial parks on minimum of 25 acres (10 acres for IT parks) with incentives on change of land use (CLU), EDC and reimbursement of 25 per cent of the total capital expenditure on development of common infrastructure capped at maximum of Rs 25 crore,” he declared.

On the demand of amicable dispute resolution mechanism with the PSIEC OTS scheme by removing the compound interest clause and making it a simple interest payment system, Mann said the PSIEC was willing to charge industrialists that much amount which was required to pay to landowners as per the court orders. He announced that no extra cost such as penal interest would be charged.

Taking up issues pertaining to the mining policy, the CM agreed in-principle to resolve all matters flagged by the industry and a formal notification to this effect would also be issued shortly.

Arora urged the CM that multiple electricity connections should be allowed in the same industrial premises for even non-industrial tenants, which, he said, would lead to more compliances and enable the industry to shift from the mixed land use to the designated industrial areas.

Mann said since the issue was determined by the present regulations of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), he directed PSPCL officials to discuss the matter threadbare with Arora and other stakeholders to find a more industry-friendly solution to get a formal notification from the commission.

On the demand of rationalising fixed charges from the main electricity consumer who had got sub-meters on his premises, the CM asked PSPCL functionaries to work out a policy decision to this effect as well.

Arora also urged Mann to make all research and development centres and skill training centres more effective with public private partnership (PPP).

Responding affirmatively, the CM said the Industries Department would partner with the local industry to modernise all such centres on the PPP mode.

“The CM was clear in his approach to leave no stone unturned to promote the existing industry and attract fresh investments to the state, especially Ludhiana,” Arora said, adding that industry captains from the state, who attended the meet, were confident that these initiatives would help revive the industry in Punjab and Ludhiana as well.

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