Land allotted for Rs 10,000 crore investment projects in J&K

The Jammu & Kashmir government has completed the allotment of land to entrepreneurs for setting up projects which will bring in an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in the Union Territory.

In a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta in Srinagar on Thursday, it was disclosed that the UT government has allotted 9,869 kanals of land to different entrepreneurs for setting up their projects in 111 industrial estates. The government has been allotting land to the aspirants under the new industrial infrastructure development policy as also the new land allotment policy introduced in 2020-21.

As many as 3,300 applications have been approved by the high-level land allotment committee. Letter of intent has been issued to 1,879 applicants while the lease deed has been executed with 260 entrepreneurs and startups.

The Chief Secretary took a detailed review of the Industries & Commerce Department besides taking stock of the investments coming in from the national and international vendors.

The Chief Secretary impressed upon the officers to strictly adhere to the single window system and timelines to ensure that industrial units get established smoothly and the entrepreneurs generate employment opportunities for J&K’s youth while strengthening the economy.

He emphasised that the remaining reform points for industrial development should be implemented within this month.

The Chief Secretary said that the administration would incentivise the good work put up by the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in attracting new investments in their districts. He further stated that all DCs would be evaluated on certain parameters of creating an enabling environment for investments.

He stressed on making the Kashmir Haat and Jammu Haat vibrant trade centres and asked the concerned directors to take measures to turn them into business hubs round the year. Rural Haats should be established at panchayat level with upscaling at block and district level, he added.

Regarding the new industrial estates it was disclosed that 37 detailed project reports (DPRs) had been prepared by SIDCO and SICOP worth more than Rs 2,200 crore besides receiving applications for establishing two new private estates. The meeting also discussed dozens of proposals received by the department for establishing health care projects in the two medi-cities at Meeran Sahab in Jammu and Pampore in Kashmir.

The meeting also deliberated upon the progress made on investments made by foreign companies in the UT. It had detailed discussion on various proposals made by these companies after signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UT administration. These includes Dubai based businesses like EMAAR Group, Noon.com, Al Maya Group, GL Employment, MATU Investments and others.