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Industry in Chandigarh will need major impetus by government post lockdown, say businessmen
Loan accounts, which may become NPAs, shouldn’t be deemed wilful defaulters, seek traders
With shops and manufacturing units closed due to the curfew imposed to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), traders fear economic recovery will be difficult.
It is for the first time that all business activity, trading and manufacturing, has been shut down in the city.
“There is great uncertainty among businessmen as to what the future holds. People have even stopped planning how to manage the after-effects of the shutdown. We also don’t know for how long businesses will remain disturbed because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Neeraj Bajaj of the Chandigarh Business Council.
In the city’s industrial area, more than 30,000 are employed in manufacturing and service units.
“Beyond the short-term struggle, the industry will need major impetus from the government in the short and long term. There should be moratorium period or extension of six months for payment of liabilities including utility bills, taxes and duties to the government,” said Pankaj Khanna, president, industries association, Chandigarh.
Industry is also seeking for loans accounts, which become non-performing assets (NPA) during lockdown, to not be considered wilful defaulters.
“Stimulus package for MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) should be considered for the financial year 2020-2021. Financial support for unorganized sectors will also be required,” Khanna said.
Chandigarh Beopar Mandal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Punjab governor and UT administrator VP Singh Badnore on Friday, seeking help, as they struggle to deal with the acute economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
“We request the government to allow us to pay our employees ₹4,000 to ₹5,000 per month as ration cost till the lockdown continues,” the traders’ body stated in its communiqué.
“Most of our traders have taken overdraft/CC limits or term loans in order to run their businesses. When there is
no business activity, paying these interests is also a big challenge,” said Charanjiv Singh, chairman of the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal.
FACTORY WORKERS ISSUED CURFEW PASSES TO FACILITATE WAGE DISBURSEMENT TO LABOUR
To resolve the issue of payment of wages to more than 25,000 factory workers in the city, the UT administration has started issuing curfew passes to factory officials to allow them to disburse wages.
“So far, we have issued 120 curfew passes for factory officials. In case there are any problems regarding this, we are taking them up on priority basis,” said Harjit Singh Sandhu, director, industries.
Due to restrictions on movement imposed because of the curfew, both factory owners and workers have been facing problems with the disbursement of wages. Various industry associations had taken up the issue with the administration.
The UT labour department, too, has contacted industrialists and factory owners regarding payment of wages to the labourers. “Around 10,000 labourers have already received their salaries. Efforts are being made to ensure that the remaining labour is paid wages at the earliest,” said a senior UT official, wishing not to be named.
Meanwhile, household workers like maids, gardeners, etc are finding it difficult to collect their monthly salaries because of curfew restrictions. “The administration should devise a plan that allows household workers to collect their salaries from houses of their employers. They are not able to visit their workplaces and they don’t have curfew passes either. This is causing them a great deal of hardship,” said RK Garg, a city based social activist.
