Punjab govt to form core group for industry, housing sectors

In a move to promote ‘ease of doing business in the state’, the Punjab government has decided to constitute a core group to address issues pertaining to industries, housing and urban development sectors.

In a move to promote ‘ease of doing business in the state’, the Punjab government has decided to constitute a core group to address issues pertaining to industries, housing and urban development sectors. The group will comprise representatives from departments including housing and urban development (H&UD), industries and other line departments, and urban development, minister Aman Arora said while interacting with the industrialists at Confederation of Indian Industrialists (CII) headquarters here on Thursday. CII Punjab chairman Amit Thapar highlighted issues faced by industry with regard to bye-laws, permissions, approvals, land scarcity and urban life.

The minister said that Punjab government, apart from promoting ease of doing business, will now focus on ease of living too. (AP file photo)

Arora said the H&UD department has been creating a foolproof mechanism which will ensure industrialists get any kind of permission within 45 days. “Efforts are also on to make industrial plots easily available to investors, who want to establish industry in the state,” he said. The minister also claimed that the Mann government is not leaving any stone unturned to bring industry in the state and make Punjab as one of the most favourite destinations for investment in the country. He said the state government, apart from promoting ease of doing business, will now focus on ease of living too.

Arora also listened to the concerns of the industrialists and ensured to resolve these at the earliest. The minister agreed to some important demands made by CII regarding extension of existing compounding policy by one year, H&UD bye-laws governing industry and digitisation of zonal master plans so that khasra number can be entered digitally and status of land can be identified before purchase to avoid issues later, according to the industry association. Arora invited all the industrialists to join the Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit to be organised in February.