E-Paper
With no decision on SPV, maintenance of Mohali industrial areas takes a hit
Only recently, the MC House had rejected the concept of SPV for maintenance
Two months after municipal corporation House of Mohali unanimously rejected the concept of special purpose vehicle (SPV) body for maintenance and development of parts of industrial area falling within corporation limits here, the Punjab government has failed to take any decision in this regard. Consequently, the maintenance of basic amenities in industrial areas has gone from bad to worse.
Yogesh Sagar, president of Mohali Industry Association (MIA), said that the civic body authorities have failed to maintain the industrial area. “We met the industry minister of Punjab who assured us that maintenance work would be done. We urge that both MC and Punjab Small Industries Export Corporation Limited (PSIEC) to carry out the maintenance,” he said.
Even after two decades, the industrial area still faces issues such as dilapidated roads, unchecked growth of weeds, non-functional street lights and lack of proper garbage collection. In the past three years, the MC have collected ₹12 crore as property tax, but spent only ₹3 crore.
Thereupon, in September last year, the SPV was notified for the maintenance of industrial areas, which meant the yearly income in the form of property tax, which was earlier collected by MC would go to SPV.
The SPV has been formed under a Government of India scheme, and industrial areas in Phases 4,5, 7, 8, 8-A, 8-B, 9 and 9 (extension) will be under its purview .For the functioning of SPV, the MIA Infrastructure Development Association (MIAIDA) was also formed.
Director of industries and commerce Punjab, C Sibin, said that the additional chief secretary of local bodies department Sanjay Kumar will be holding a meeting in the coming week to take a call on the issue, wherein members of SPV will be part of the meeting.
In the House meeting held on December 27, councillors had said that the SPV concept would allow MIAIDA to collect all types of revenue, which included property tax, water supply and sewerage charges and more, from the area in question, and use it for its maintenance and development purposes. However, if they allowed this proposal, then similar demands would come in from other bodies/areas, so they decided to reject it.
Currently, the industrial area is in shambles. Almost two decades after industrial focal points were created, the area still lacks basic amenities. In the absence of proper eating joints and recreational spots in industrial areas of Phases 7, 8, 8-A and B, which are being projected as an IT hub, most professionals have no choice but to depend on roadside eateries. We are hopeful that, government will take a positive view on this for the development of industrial areas,” said C Sibin.
KNOW THE INDUSTRIAL AREAS
Industry in Mohali began in 1978 with just 10 units, but today, it has about 10,000 units, including the manufacturing and IT/ service industry. These industrial units fall under three heads – Phase 1 to 4 fall under Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), Phase 7, 8-A and 8-B under Punjab Small Industries Export Corporation Limited (PSIEC) and Phase 9 industrial area falls under Punjab Infotech.
