For boosting the development of private industrial parks in the State, the Punjab Government would soon provide exemption in the CLU (change in land use) and EDC (external development charges).

Announcing this, the state’s Industries and Commerce Minister Sunder Sham Arora on Monday said that an area of at least 25 acres has been fixed for the setting up of private industrial parks with permission to be given for construction of residential and commercial establishments in 50 percent area.

“No CLU or EDC would be levied on any part of the private industrial park,” said the Minister.

Arora said that the Industrial and Business Development Policy 2017 was notified in October 2017, and modified in July 2018 thus strengthening the industrial infrastructure of the State with a view to give fillip to the private industrial parks.

The Housing and Urban Development Department has issued the notification for giving exemption from paying CLU or EDC in respect of such private industrial parks, he addd.

Divulging about various industry-centric initiatives undertaken by the State Government, he said that whereas on one hand, the single window system is being practiced for establishing new industrial start ups, on the other hand, the Invest Punjab Business First portal has also been launched.

Those investors interested in setting up their private industrial park, are given online approvals through the portal, he said.The Minister said that the industrial units, to be set up under the private parks, would be exempted from stamp duty, electricity duty and the GST in accordance with the ‘Industrial and Business Development Policy 2017’.He exhorted the investors to avail maximum benefit from the industry friendly policies being pursued by the Punjab Government.

AAP blames successive SAD-BJP, and Cong Govts for industrial rout in Punjab

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday said that the erstwhile SAD-BJP alliance and now the Capta Amarinder Singh-led Congress Government were squarely responsible for the rout in industries in the state as “both had done nothing to save the industries in the state thus rendering thousands jobless”.

“If official figures are to be believed, these portray a dismal picture of situation on the ground,” said the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Harpal Singh Cheema, and deputy leader Sarabjit Kaur Manuke, in a joint statement.Cheema said that Capt Amarinder Government, which had promised ‘ghar-ghar naukri’ to the state’s youth in its elections manifesto had, instead of delivering on it, snatched away jobs from thousands of factory workers in the aftermath of shutting down of hundreds of factories and other industrial units in the state as were lying sick for longer spans.

“It is disgraceful to know that as many as 177 factories were shut down in Ludhiana only, a startling figure that swelled to a total of 242 units which faced closure during the 10-year long regime of the Badals,” he said.

“However, during first nine months of the Captain Government’s tenure after assuming power, as many as 65 factories were shut down...Prominent areas where a large number of industrial units were forced to shut down included Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Mandi Gobindgarh, Goraya, Batala, Dhariwal, Amritsar, Bathinda and Mansa areas Nangal, Sangrur, Mohali and Dera Bassi, and others,” he said adding that the anti-industry and anti-traders’ policies of the governments had led to the closure of a large number of industries in Punjab.

Mounting a scathing attack on SAD president Sukhbir Badal, who was the Union Minister of State for Industry in the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre, Manuke accused him of sitting as a mute witness while special industrial packages were being announced to certain hilly states, stating that he had betrayed the interests of the state.

“He (Sukhbir Badal) should show a little grace to have the special packages to the border state of Punjab at par with the other states covered under the scheme, through his wife and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal by bringing industrial units in various parts of the state, thereby opening up vistas of employment in the State,” she said.