Ease of Doing Business: Task Force meets, CCI prez flags key bottlenecks

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, July 19: A crucial meeting of the Task Force constituted by the Government of India to address De-Regulation, reduction in compliance burden and reforms for Ease of Doing Business was held today in Srinagar. The meeting was chaired by K K Pathak, Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India.
During the deliberations, president of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arun Gupta, putforth several key suggestions and highlighted persistent bottlenecks hampering industrial growth. He emphasized the need to develop a mechanism to monitor and measure the actual impact of Ease of Doing Business reforms and de-regulation on the ground. Stressing that a positive mindset among implementing authorities is crucial, he said accountability must be fixed in case of delays to ensure genuine and result-oriented implementation.
Gupta pointed out that existing manufacturing units face hurdles when attempting to change the nature of business operations. He said that reapplying to multiple departments for Change of Land Use (CLU) defies the logic of commercial flexibility, especially when the unit is already involved in commercial activities. He also flagged the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs in obtaining NOCs from multiple departments.
He added that even green-category industrial units are forced to seek numerous clearances and existing units that change their constitution as per court orders face delays of months or even years due to over-regulation. Gupta strongly advocated that each department should stick to its own mandate and avoid imposing inter-departmental conditions.
Citing examples from Jammu, he said residents of Gandhi Nagar, developed by the J&K Housing Board in 1955, are now being denied house plan approvals by JMC for lack of NOC from the Housing Department-even when plans adhere to JMC bylaws.
He recommended extending the validity of Fire NOCs to five years and Pollution Control clearances to ten years. Additionally, he urged the Government to allow industries in rural areas even if the road width is 25 feet, against the current 40 feet requirement.

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