Punjab Govt announces Rs 200 crore one-time settlement for industrialists

In a move to support home-grown industrialists, Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has agreed to their demand for a one-time settlement (OTS) policy to help clear dues on industrial plots allotted before January 2020.

This policy will offer a Rs 200 crore relief to industrialists who were unable to pay their dues following the enhancement of land costs.

The policy was approved in a meeting of the Punjab Council of Ministers, chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday.

Punjab Industries Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond and Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora, the AAP candidate for Ludhiana West, shared the details after the Cabinet meeting. Arora had briefed the Chief Minister about the industrialists’ demands before the meeting.

The new policy will benefit around 1,145 industrialists, said Sond. It is learnt that dues worth Rs 330 crore are pending towards these industrialists for plots allotted by Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation (PSIEC).

Under the policy, the industrialists will only need to pay simple interest at an 8% rate by December this year, as the government has waived compounding and penal interest.

Additionally, another OTS scheme was approved for the parent allottees of over 2,500 industrial plots across state focal points. These industrialists, who have not been able to pay the principal amounts, can now settle their dues by paying the simple 8 per cent rate of interest, while penal and compounding interest will be waived.

The issue had been pending for more than three decades, said Arora. It will benefit industrialists primarily in Ludhiana, Mohali, and Jalandhar.

This is the third major initiative taken by the AAP government recently, as the party aims to strengthen its position after electoral setbacks in Delhi last month.

In recent days, the government has ramped up efforts to tackle the drug menace in the state, launching a “War on Drugs” campaign, which includes demolishing properties owned by drug peddlers.

The government has also cracked down on corruption, with the arrest of an IAS officer and the dismissal of 52 police officers facing corruption charges.