Jammu, Dec 04: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Monday directed the Industries and Commerce Department to create a formal mechanism for highlighting and resolving the concerns of industrialists. He advised holding periodic sittings of the forum in both Kashmir and Jammu divisions.
The objective of the forum should be to advocate and further the interests of stakeholders in the industrial sector, Dulloo said while holding the introductory review of the I&C Department to take stock of its working and implementation of the Industrial Policy here in the UT. The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce (I&C); Secretary of I&C; Managing Directors of the allied Corporations besides HoDs of I&C from both the Divisions of the UT.
While appreciating the fact that MSMEs form the backbone of the industrial sector in J&K, the Chief Secretary emphasised providing the necessary support to the MSME units in every sphere, to upgrade their status from lower to higher stratum for large-scale employment generation in J&K. He advised fixing timelines for completion of work on all the new industrial estates besides regularly monitoring the allotments to ensure the timely operationalisation of the units by the aspiring entrepreneurs.
Dulloo also observed that the PM Vishwakarma scheme is the platform that envisages end-to-end support to the marginal artisans and craftsmen who work with their hands and deserve support and recognition for their work. “Hence, the scheme should be given due priority for its proper implementation,” he said. He directed providing every kind of assistance to the applicants for registration as per the approved target and to ensure that every such artisan is on-boarded on the portal.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the progress on GI tagging and advised fulfilling all the necessary formalities for securing the same for the eleven products in the pipeline in addition to the ten notified. He called for enhancing the number of such authorised users in a time-bound manner.
It was informed in the meeting that of the 46 new IEs, 7 and 8 are being developed by IRCON and NBCC and 6 each by CPWD and SIDCO/SICOP respectively. The Chief Secretary noted the issues of development of industrial estates and future plans of the department, capex expenditure made to date and directed to fast track its pace and meet the deadlines.
The Commissioner Secretary, I&C, informed that till October 2023, the department has realised an investment of Rs 2079.76 crore in the UT besides registering the highest-ever investment worth Rs 2153.45 crore in the previous fiscal.
Single window system, development of land for IEs, availability of utilities there and issues related to the flagship programmes being monitored by Ministry of Home Affairs and their status in the UT also came under discussion during this meeting.
Moreover, the Chief Secretary emphasised maintaining the pace of development of different sectors and ensuring that the aspirations of stakeholders are also met in a hassle-free manner.
