UP to set up Gr Noida II to woo industry

Lucknow, May 30 (UNI) Trying to encash the popularity of Noida among industrialists, Uttar Pradesh government today announced to set up Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (II) in the Dadri region of western UP to accelerate industrial development.

UP cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav approved the setting up of the new Authority on the patterns of Noida and Greater Noida.

State chief secretary Naveen Chandra Bajpayee told mediapersons here, 183 villages in Dadri and nearby areas had been identified to be acquired by the government for the purpose.

Of the total villages, six would be taken from Sikrandrabad tehsil of Bulandshahr, 83 Hapur tehsil, 80 Dadri tehsil, 3 Ghaziabad tehsil and 6 Bulandshahar tehsil.

Mr Bajpayee said the new Authority was named after Greater Noida rather than as Dadri Industrial Development Authority, since Noida was very popular among industrialists.

''All efforts will be made for promotion of trade, commerce and industry in the new Authority region.'' Earlier, UP Development Council (UPDC) had recommended granting Dadri the status of an industrial hub as the satellite township of Greater Noida.

A Task Force would be constituted to decide on the kind of tax rebate for industrial units setting up base in Dadri.

A move to develop Dadri and other areas is also being undertaken with a view to arresting exodus of industrial units to neighbouring Uttaranchal due to the latter's liberal industrial policy.

Dadri, where NTPC has a thermal station, is also the location for Reliance Energy's proposed power plant. Besides, tax sops to investors, UP is also expected to spruce up infrastructure in Dadri to woo industry.

In another decision, UP cabinet today hiked the compounding fee of trade tax on Vanaspati industry for 2006-07.

The government hiked the fee from Rs 940 to Rs 1,120 per tonne of vanaspati produced by a unit under its production capacity. The rate of over production capacity has been raised to Rs 1,220 per tonne from Rs 1,120.

UP will collect an additional revenue of Rs 2.5 crore by this hike in the current fiscal.

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