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| Defective work culture not Article 370 responsible for tardy industrial growth | | | Gareeb Dass
Jammu | June 17
The BJP President,Rajnath Singh,has posed one question.What has Article 370 given to Jammu and Kashmir when it has not helped the state to achieve revolutionary improvement in the industrial sector ?He has a point.But he possibly seems be unaware of the basic factors that led to slow growth in the industrial sector in the state.The successive state Governments have initiated measures for attracting big industrial houses to Jammu and Kashmir for setting up units.But the level of the efforts of these Governments has been very limited.Its origin does not lie in Article 370 but in the lack of work culture and the defective approach and attitude of the state agencies.These agencies have been resorting to one strategy or the other which has discouraged industrialists in setting up their units in the state.
This erratic attitude of the state agencies is not a new phenomenon.It has been there since late 70's when the then Chief Minister,Sheikh Abdullah,invited number of industrialists to Srinagar with the purpose of persuading them for installing medium and major units in the state.The first to accept the invitation was Bajajs.The head of the Bajaj family led a team of the company's officials.The Sheikh proved a good host and had a couple of meetings with the Bajajs who as a token of gift installed neon lights in the Lal Chow area.After returning to Mumbai senior officers of the company,some of them drawing three times more salary than the Kashmir Chief Minister,visited Srinagar.They submitted a plan to the Government for setting up a couple of units in the state.They were asked to discuss the plan with different Government agencies.The Bajaj team, spent several days and during all these days they were told to contact one officer or the other.They were forced to visit one department or the other.Whereever they went they were demanded a pound of flesh.The team members felt frustrated and returned to their headquarters where they informed the boss about their experiences.The Bajajs abandoned their plan to set up industries in Jammu and Kashmir.
This incident has been repeating itself in one form or the other.Recent events are no less distressing.An industrialist had been given land on lease in an industrial estate in Jammu.He appointed one liaison officer hailing from Jammu to get noobjection certificates from various Government departments.The officer had a painful experience when in one Government department he could procure noobjection certificate after a couple of months and that too after paying over Rs.50,000 to various officers in the deparrment.This exercise he had to carry out in other Government agencies.It took nearly more than six months for completing the process.The unit holder had decided to abandon the plan had not the liaison officer pleaded for patience.There are innumerable such examples.And when the security situation improved after 1996 poll the state Government again started inviting industrial hoiuses for setting up units.Number of big banners visited the state,including LG.These industrialists preferred Jammu to Srinagar for setting up their units because they had fears about safety in the Kashmir valley.When they conveyed their decision the state agencies discouraged them.These agencies wanted the industrialists to set up their units in Kashmir.They abandoned their idea of coming to Jammu and Kashmir.And others started getting inconvenienced when they had to suffer for receiving incentives and subsidies on time.Others suffered because of power crisis and they adopted a go slow strategy when they were asked to bank on diesel and petrol generators for which they would get subsidies.If the industrial sector in Jammu and Kashmir has not kept pace with other states it is not because of Article 370.Framing and reframing of industrial policy will not do.On various occasions the state Government announced single window system for clearing projects submitted by industrialists.Where is this single window ?There are many windows opened for minting money.Let this be stopped.What is needed is change in the mind set of the Government agencies.It is because of these agencies that a large number of enterpreneurs managed to gulp down subsidies and incentives without ever installing their units.The result was that several thousand units are sick,several hundred units stad shut and an equal number of units are untraceable. |
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