HP government clears 10 new industrial units

Shimla, Jan 5 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh Government has cleared the setting up of 10 new industrial units in the state with a proposed investment of Rs 90 crore and providing employment to 1,039 people.

The State's Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority, which met under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, cleared the proposals yesterday, taking the total investment in the state during the last three years to Rs 21,652 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Singh said in all 8,340 new industrial units, which would provide employment to over three lakh people, have been cleared by the state government.

The pace of industrialisation in the state has picked up pace due to the simplification of clearance procedure that has been adopted by the state government, he said.

Stressing upon the need to rehabilitate the farmers whose land was being acquired for setting up industries, he said they should also be adequately compensated for parting with their ancestral land.

The Chief Minister said private players were also being encouraged to construct residential accommodation for their skilled and unskilled workers in the industrial sector itself.

Observing that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act 2006 was enacted by the Centre to facilitate promotion and enhance competition amongst the entrepreneurs, he said industrial proposals up to Rs 10 crore would be considered medium enterprises, while investments above Rs 10 crore would be considered large scale industries.

State Industries Minister Kuldeep Kumar, Chief Secretary S S Parmar and Industries Principal Secretary Ashok Thakur were amog other senior state government officials present on the occasion.

UNI