Special package has boosted industrialisation in HP, says Kuldeep

Shimla, May 28 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh Government has urged the Centre to extend the industrial package to the state till 2013 from March 31, 2007, saying it had given a boost to industrialisation in the state, Industries Minister Kuldeep Kumar today said.

The share of the industries and service sector in GDP has increased to 15.9 per cent and 17.3 per cent from 1.1 and 5.9 per cent respectively during 1950-51, he said during his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Delhi.

Mr Kumar said the Prime Minister had assured him that the Centre would sympathetically consider their case because of the special geographical conditions of the state.

Ever since the announcement of special incentives package to the state, over 7,040 industrial investment proposals have been approved with an investment of about Rs 18,045 crore and proposes to provide employment to about 2,52,446 people, he said.

The minister said besides 185 expansion proposals having 6016.58 crore investment have also been approved during the last two and a half years.

The state government had also set up a Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority to ensure expeditious clearance for the setting up of new units in the state, he said, adding that it had so far cleared 511 projects with an investment of Rs 9,672 crore.

The units had a potential of providing jobs to 71, 975 people of the state, he said.

Mr Kumar said the Himachal government has requested the Centre to treat Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttaranchal at par with North East and Jammu and Kashmir states for developing industrial infrastructure there.

The state has 32,709 small scale and 315 medium and large-scale unit with an investment of about Rs 4255.78 crore that were providing employment to about 1.86 lakh people, he added.

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