To establish the State as a competitive and favoured investment destination, Haryana Cabinet on Wednesday approved Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020.
The Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal here also approved the implementation of the 103- km-long Delhi-Panipat corridor of the Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) and levying of a two per cent “panchayat tax” on power bills for consumers in rural bodies among other key proposals.
Giving details, an official spokesman said that the cabinet has approved the Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020 to establish Haryana as a favoured investment destination, achieve regional development and provide livelihood opportunities to its people through resilient economic development.
The objective of the policy is to attract investment over Rs 1 lakh crore and generate 5 lakh jobs in the state.
Elaborating about the policy, the spokesman said that it will focus on building a resilient economy on the back of robust industrial growth. The policy envisages leveraging opportunities arising out of changes in global economic order and align industrial growth in the state with national initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission. The policy also takes cognizance of emerging trends in supply chain, electric mobility, agri-tech, green manufacturing and climate change and healthcare and pharma and other new avenues for growth.
To ensure timely delivery of services to the investors, 41 new services will be included in the Haryana Right to Services Act, 2014.
Apart from this, the Single Window System will be further strengthened with the integration of additional 36 new services.
This policy places a special emphasis on development of the MSME sector and their business growth. It envisages bringing up a paradigm shift from being a regulator to a facilitator of MSMEs, he said.
In support of micro enterprises for generating employment opportunities for youth at their doorstep in rural areas, the Haryana Gramin Udyogik Vikas Yojna will be introduced under this policy.
The spokesman said that to reduce the cost of doing business in the state and enhance industry competitiveness , the policy offers an array of attractive fiscal incentives to MSME, large, mega and ultra-mega enterprises, exporting units, thrust sector enterprises, essential sector enterprises, import substitution enterprises and identified service enterprises including but not limited to investment subsidy in lieu of Net SGST, interest subsidy, stamp duty refund, electricity duty refund, employment subsidy and technology acquisition support, amongst others.
Ultra-Mega and Mega and Cluster projects as defined under this policy will also be considered by Haryana Enterprises Promotion Board (HEPB) for special package of incentives.
The policy will consider Auto, Auto Components and Light Engineering, Agro-based, Food Processing and Allied Industry, Textiles and Apparels, Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESGM), Defence and Aerospace Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices, Chemical and Petrochemicals and Large Scale Energy and date storage as thrust sectors with increase in emphasis and assistance, the spokesman added.
CABINET APPROVES NEW ‘PANCHAYAT TAX’ ON ELECTRICITY
The State Government has decided to levy a two per cent “panchayat tax” on power bills for consumers who fall within the limits of the rural bodies in the state.
According to the officials, electricity consumption for agriculture and some other categories is exempted from the tax.
The spokesman said that the State Government has decided to levy the tax on use of electricity in order to augment the financial resources of gram panchayats.
But it will not apply on “consumption of electricity by the Government of India or if it is consumed in the construction, maintenance or operation of any railway by the Centre or on consumption by agriculture consumers within the limits of gram panchayats in the state.”
The move is likely to garner additional revenue of Rs 100-125 crore annually for the panchayats which then can be used in their developmental work. The panchayat tax will be collected by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and paid in the same manner as if it was an electricity duty payable to the state government, and same will be remitted to the gram panchayats concerned
Meanwhile, the decision has triggered an opposition demand for its rollback. Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the tax imposed on rural consumers should be immediately rolled back.
HARYANA APPROVES DELHI-PANIPAT RAPID TRANSPORT SYSTEM
The state Cabinet has approved the implementation of the 103- km-long Delhi-Panipat corridor of the Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) with 17 stations -- six in Delhi and 11 in Haryana.
The construction and commissioning of the RRTS will be undertaken in two stages -- 58 km Sarai Kale Khan to Murthal and 44 km Murthal to Panipat.
The project will enable efficient and effective movement of a large number of people, while bringing and accelerating economic development, the spokesman said.
The project is being implemented by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation , a joint venture of the govt of India and the participating states of Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
In the Delhi-Panipat corridor, there are two participating states -- Delhi and Haryana.
The cabinet also approved a gross contribution of Rs 4,699 crore as the state’s share towards the project cost. It nominated the Administrative Secretary of the Town and Country Planning Department as the nodal officer for signing of agreements and other related documents with NCRTC for the implementation of the project.
Besides, the Cabinet authorised the Chief Minister to approve any changes or modifications, if need arises during consultation with the NCRTC or the government or for removing difficulties and bottlenecks in the implementation of the project, the spokesman added.