Having come into power by proactively propagating the idea ‘kendra rajya me ek sarkar’, the newly-formed Government in Jharkhand has taken some initial steps to work in tandem with the Centre. Justifying the resolution, Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday directed officials of Industry Department to smoothen way for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor besides, making State Industrial Policy investor-friendly.
The Chief Minister presiding over a review meeting of the department asked the officials to identify land around the dedicated rail corridor so that overall industrial development could take place along the rail patch. “Economic development has to be given priority for overall development of the State. Fast economic development can be ensured only by promoting industry and investment,” said Das.
The corridor, proposed in the Union Budget, would originate from Amritsar and go up to Kolkata via Delhi while good part of it would pass through Jharkhand. Considering the mineral wealth of the State, the corridor holds immense possibility for related industrial development. Sources present in the meeting said that besides the corridor, land issues related to creation of land Bank for industries, fast acquisition of forest land, identification of undisputed land and maximum utilisation of the lands available with industries or otherwise also came for intense discussion.
“The CM was particular about land issue as it has been holding back several industrial projects. Idea of creation of a land bank is there in the Industrial Policy, which would be relooked in the light of recent land Acquisition Act and changes proposed through the Ordinance at the Centre,” said a top official. Most importantly, the CM also stressed on full utilisation of the land taken by some big industries in the State. Vast amount of such land is reported to have been lying vacant with companies operational in Jharkhand since their expansion plans have been in limbo.
Industry Secretary Himani Pandey informed the CM about 3.5 acre of land available at Koderma district for industrial purpose. “The CM has sought to identify such undisputed lands in other parts of the State as well and DCs and DFOs have been told to present a report within a week about that. The report would be presented before the Advocate General so that their ownership and other legal details can be verified,” added the official. Chief Secy Sajal Chakraverty, Finance Secy Rajbala Verma and Mines Secretary Arun were present in the meeting.
The CM also discussed ways to provide fillip to big industrial projects related to iron and steel and cement and also of power plants in the State. This included private as well as public sector units. It is likely that the task to bring the Industrial Policy of Jharkhand in tune with the Centre’s idea of economic development is on the cards. Sources in the Industry Department suggest that the policy in place would be made more investors friendly by implementing single window clearance mechanism in real terms.
“The Government is looking committed to make the environment investor friendly and also fruitful for those who are already working in the State. One of the major issues has been land here and the policy of the Government in this direction has to be looked into in the days to come,” said a Secretary-level official. The review meeting also underlined the need of a Procurement Policy and land Allotment Policy.
