More facilities to encourage units in remote areas: CM

Dharamshala, Dec 29 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said additional facilities will be provided to the entrepreneurs willing to set up new industrial units in remote areas of the state.

Replying to a supplementary on the setting up of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state during the question hour, he said the entrepreneurs were being encouraged to set up new units in the remote areas where they would be provided additional benefits, besides the central industrial package.

Mr Singh said while exemptions under the industrial package were available throughout the state, exemptions within the SEZs would be provided within an area in state.

However, with scarcity of land in the Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh areas, its cost had escalated and entrepreneurs were being asked to set up their units in other areas of the state including Una, Hamirpur and Kangra districts, he added.

The Chief Minister said under the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, only the hilly areas of Punjab were merged with Himachal and the neighbouring states thus should not complain that the industries were only being set up in the plain areas, while taking advantage of the package under the hill states.

Earlier, replying to the main question of Vijai Singh Mankotia (Congress), State Industries Minister Kuldeep Kumar informed the House that the Centre had provided, in principle, approval for the setting up of three Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state.

The Centre had granted, in principle, approval to DS Construction Ltd for setting up a multi-product SEZ in Kangra over 1,000 hectares on April 4, this year, while SKIL was granted airport based multi-product SEZ at Gagret in Una district in over 3,230 hectares on October 26, this year, he said.

Mr Kumar said the Centre had also approved mutli-product SEZ, spread over 800 hectares, at Waknaghat in Solan district of the state on November 4.

UNI AS JN PB DS1545