CHANDIGARH: The UT administration’s Chandigarh Industrial Policy, 2015 — which largely remains on paper since it was notified in 2015, will now be reviewed. UT adviser Dharam Pal has asked a department to submit a report on its implementation. He will also review pending issues of the industry on Thursday.
Talking to TOI, Pal said the policy should not remain on paper only and it should be implemented for the benefit of people. “The industrial policy will be reviewed. What progress UT has made in last six years? Issues concerning industries will be reviewed. The department concerned will submit a report,” he said, adding he would also take up issues pertaining to leasehold to freehold with the Centre.
The city-based industrialists rued that in 2015, when the policy was notified, the administration had assured to boost ease of doing business, ease of transfer of property, promoting the industry at national and international levels, development of infrastructure in Industrial Area, and a preferential procurement policy for the city’s industry.
However, the result was that Chandigarh was ranked at 29th position out of 36 in the ease of doing business state rankings 2019, prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which was released last year in September.
Chandigarh was ranked 29th in the rankings released in 2018. The rankings assess states on 187 parameters, including access to information and transparency enabler, single window system, land administration and transfer of land and property, land availability and allotment, environment registration enablers, construction permit enablers, labour regulation-enablers, obtaining utility permits
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A relook at the industrial policy is a must to forge a new path, especially when the industry sees it as the key impediment in bringing down the city in the ease of business charts. There is a need to have a more flexible approach and transparency to accelerate the processes like change of land use as well as timely completion of infrastructure projects. A weekly review would further speed up the processes and result in removal of hurdles.
