Himachal Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has condemned the outbursts of Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for opposing the revival of special industrial package of incentives to Himachal Pradesh.
“This special industrial package to Himachal Pradesh will have no adverse effects on industrial growth of Punjab or any other State,” he said. Agnihotri said that the State Government had been striving hard for extension of industrial package to the State which was introduced in 2003 for 10 years till March, 2013. But, later the incentive of central excise duty was withdrawn in March, 2010 and income tax incentive in March, 2012.
He said that it was unfortunate that Punjab had been opposing the demand of Himachal Pradesh to extend industrial package period till 2020. “Earlier also, it was due to pressure of the nieghbouring states that special industrial package to Himachal Pradesh was taken back by the Central Government who thought that the availability of these incentives to Himachal was adversely affecting the industrial investment in the bigger States,” Agnihotri added.
However, this apprehension of bigger States was not correct as no industry had moved from Punjab and other neighbouring States to Himachal Pradesh. The Minister said that Himachal Pradesh was a small hilly State, where encouraging industrialisation was not an easy task. Agnihotri added that during the industrial package period, the State got about 16,500 units in small, medium and large-scale sectors, with the proposed investment of Rs 48,830 crore having employment potential of 542,580 people.
However, of these approved units, only 9,353 units with investment of Rs 14,557 crore, having employment potential of 1,20,602 people, were actually set up in the state. The curtailment of industrial package period slowed down investment besides adversely impacting the industrial growth and employment opportunities in the State.