New industrial policy on the anvil, J&K generating land bank

Under the Union Territory’s first industrial policy, which will be announced soon, the Jammu and Kashmir government is currently generating a fresh land bank of 48,000 kanals of land for development of new industrial estates. Around 24,000 kanals of land has already been transferred to the Department of Industries and Commerce.

According to highly placed bureaucratic sources, the UT’s first industrial policy was being fine-tuned and it would be introduced any time in December. The Department of Industries and Commerce would immediately start execution of the new Industrial Policy. Officials say they would need one to two years for development of the fresh lands into industrial estates. Thereafter, it would be allotted and handed over to potential entrepreneurs, including start-ups, for establishment of their units in different districts.

In 2016, the then PDP-BJP government had envisaged to attract global investment of Rs 20,000 crore for development of the industrial sector in the next 10 years. Efforts had begun to generate a land bank of 20,000 kanals of the State and the community land for the period 2016-26. However, no significant progress could be achieved till that government collapsed in June 2018.

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During the Governor’s and the President’s rule thereafter, the government proposed to generate investment of Rs 25,000 crore for which it required a fresh land bank of 25,000 kanals. In February 2020, the Lieutenant Governor’s Advisory Council accorded sanction to the transfer of 13,665 kanals of Kahcharai (Shamilat) and State land from the Department of Revenue to the Department of Industries and Commerce.

By way of the Government Order on February 14, 6,520 kanals of the alienated land was transferred to the Department of Industries in Jammu and 7,145 kanals in Kashmir. Subsequently, the Divisional Commissioners and the Deputy Commissioners, who have competence up to 50 kanals and 10 kanals respectively, transferred more lands making it an aggregate of 24,000 kanals.

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In all, 16,000 kanals of land have been transferred to the Department of Industries and Commerce in Jammu and 8,000 kanals in Kashmir. Around 24,000 kanals more would be transferred to the Department of Industries after receiving No Objection Certificates from the Department of Forest.

“Our industrial estates in Kashmir alone are spread over 10,000 kanals of land. Now we will be having a total of more than 22,000 kanals in Kashmir and a little more in Jammu,” said an officer at Directorate of Industries in Srinagar.

“The Department of Industries and Commerce has planned creation of a land bank of 6,000 acres or close to 48,000 kanals in the Union Territory for the purpose of creation of new Industrial Estates and expansion and upgrade of already existing Industrial Estates to attract entrepreneurs and ground investments in the Union Territory,” an official spokesman said. He confirmed that 24,000 kanals of land has already been transferred.

“Transfer of remaining land out of 48,000 kanals is pending for clearance with the Forest Department among others as is in the due process on acquisition of such land,” he said. According to him, around 75 MoUs have been executed with various prospective investors in different fields like industry, education and food processing by the Department of Industries and Commerce.

Many investors are locally established and some are from outside Jammu and Kashmir. The department is working on creation of employment opportunities in the private sector by encouraging such investments and also creation of a conducive business ecosystem.

Ease of doing business would be the main focus of the new industrial policy. It would also provide for major incentives, including relief in taxes, supply of raw material, promotion of marketing and allotment of land for setting up the units. Kashmir being an ecologically fragile area, the policy would limit the proposed industries to only the activities not creating air, water or noise pollution..