Lack of land plagues setting up of textile, plastic parks

Even as the state government inked 21 MoUs with industrialists from across the country in SAS Nagar on Monday, its promised textile and plastic parks in Malwa have not seen fruition for years. This has happened not for lack of investors, but for lack of land.

Even as the state government inked 21 MoUs with industrialists from across the country in SAS Nagar on Monday, its promised textile and plastic parks in Malwa have not seen fruition for years. This has happened not for lack of investors, but for lack of land.

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In spite of repeated attempts, the government has failed to make land available for the two facilities.

Though some textiles business houses have established units in a scattered form in the region, but the idea of developing a

large-scale industrial park, a 5-year-old proposal, has petered out as farmers are unwilling to give land. The idea of a plastic park, expected to be operationalised after April 2012, has also not worked out.

The petrochemical refinery set up in the region was seen as a big employment generator, but now it has no jobs to offer. Downstream industry attached with the refinery is now the only hope for the unemployed youth from the region to get jobs.

Four years back, a survey by the state government had estimated an investment potential of Rs 1,051 crore after the setting up of the refinery. However, the department has failed to identify land. Initially, a private player offered 50 acres in Bathinda near the refinery for the park. However, the petroleum ministry rejected the proposal as the land requirement was put at 100 acres. After that, the district administration sent a proposal to the state government to acquire

100 acres near Jassi Bagh Wali village, but the proposal is still in balance.

Then in 2011, there was large scale farmers' protest at Gobindpura village in Mansa against the land acquired by state government for a power project. Since then, land acquisition has turned even more difficult.

"High price of land increases the input cost for any industry and it has been keeping investors away," said Jarnail Singh district general manager, commerce and industrial department, Punjab.

"The administration did conduct a survey to identify land banks to offer to industrialists. However, the idea did not help as the shamlat lands are scattered across villages in small holdings and it was not possible to carve out big chunks for industry," said Jarnail.

In this regard, residents of Kanakwal village, adjacent to Guru Gobind Singh Oil Refinery, Rama Mandi, have demanded to be shifted as they claim that the pollution was affecting their health.