The Adityapur Industrial Area Development Authority (AIADA) gears up to carry out the bidding for 49 plots of land at the sprawling industrial area despite several small and micro-level entrepreneurs opposing the bidding system .
A delegation of micro-level entrepreneurs under the banner of laghu Udyog Bharati's (lUB) Seraikela-Kharsawan unit on Thursday met the AIADA secretary Hari Kumar Keshri and lodged their protest against the ongoing bidding system and also submitted a petition opposing the bidding which is scheduled on August 6.
"The entrepreneurs have been informed that as per the AIADA's new policy in land allotment, the highest bidder for any particular plot of land will be allotted the land. But as there is already crisis of industrial land, we want that the land allotment should be made keeping in view the viability of the project," said an official of lUB. He said that instead of holding bidding for allotment, the AIADA should see the viability of the project and study if there is more than one applicant for any particular plot.
Earlier on Saturday, another delegation of small-scale entrepreneurs belonging to Singhbhum Industries Association (SIA) met the managing director of AIADA, K Srinivasan and apprised the latter about their concern against the bidding system.
Uday Singh, general secretary, lUB's Seraikela-Kharsawan unit said they were against to the bidding system as AIADA is ignoring over 300 applications which it had received from aspiring entrepreneurs since 2008 for providing them land and instead of providing the applicants the land on merit basis, the industry body last year suddenly switched over to the bidding process.
"Due to the shifting of AIADA's policy from making allotment of land through its Project Clearance Committee (PCC) meeting to the bidding system, about 300 entrepreneurs who had been waiting for getting land since the past eight years will get disappointed," said Singh.
The lUB general secretary said in the first phase of land allotment, in all 160 applicants will bid on August 6 for 49 plots spread over an area of 19 acres, thus providing opportunity to the small entrepreneurs also for participating in the bidding. In this phase, area of plot of land varies from 2,000 sq ft in minimum to 14,850 sq ft.
According to information about 70 odd projects are hanging fire in the absence of adequate land for the projects to take off on the ground. Meanwhile, Adityapur Small Industries Association's president official said that there are over 1200 industrial units, including medium-scale units exist in Adityapur and Gamharia under the AIADA. He said that several entrepreneurs are forced to look beyond Jharkhand due to lack of availability of plot. Steps should be taken to increase easy availability of land to the industrialists. This will be a great achievement and will prove boon towards development of State of Jharkhand especially Kolhan.