Haryana formulates rehab policy to minimise displacement

Panipat, Jan 12 (UNI) Haryana Government has formulated a comprehensive Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy to ensure minimum displacement in view of the mega projects involving acquisition of huge tracts of land, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said today.

Speaking on the occasion of the dedication of Indian Oil's capacity expansion refinery project by the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram here, Mr Hooda said that under the policy the developers would be required to provide built-up houses or residential plots for such villages whose either total land or more than 25 per cent of the land was acquired.

They would also be required to ensure provision for essential services like roads, street lights, drainage, sewerage, medical care, schooling and technical training institutes to the satisfaction of the Government.

The Chief Minister urged the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Murli Deora to ensure that Haryana gets natural gas expeditiously for its power projects.

He said the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) and Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) have already signed an MoU for setting up of a world class petrochemical hub to utilise the feed stock from the refinery.

This project has been planned over an area of 5,000 acres with infrastructure facilities of international standards. The process for acquisition of about 1,000 acres of land for the first phase has already been initiated. The project would be implemented through a Special Purpose Vehicle with HSIIDC and IOC in the lead.

The new complex would create an industrial zone for the downstream industries and attract an investment of more than Rs 15,000 crore, he said.

Beside providing employment to about 20,000 persons directly, it would also earn valuable revenue for the state exchequer, he added.

The Cheif Minister said the Haryana Government was extending special package of incentives to IOC and its downstream industries in the form of interest free loan and exemption from local area development tax and payment of electricity duty for five years.

The expansion of the Panipat refinery, which has been dedicated to the nation today, has doubled its capacity from six million tonnes per annum to 12 million tonnes per annum. This would add another glorious chapter in the industrial development of Haryana, Mr Hooda said.

While recalling that the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the Panipat Oil Refinery, Mr Hooda said that it had catalysed a lot of development in this region, especially in industrial sector.

Mr Hooda said with a view to bridge the gap between demand and supply of power, projects to enhance the present 4,000 MW capacity to 9,000 MW have been launched through public-private partnership.

This includes 1,200 MW coal based power plant to be set up by Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL ) at Hisar, 1,050 MW plant by Tata Group in Jhajjar, 600 MW by HPGCL in Yamunanager and 1,065 MW at Faridabad.

In addition, the developers of all the SEZs coming in the state, like Reliance, DLF and Unitech, would set-up their own captive power plants within the SEZs.

HSIIDC has already signed an MoU with Gas Authority of India Limited for distribution of CNG and LNG in Haryana.

This would provide an opportunity to the industrialists of Haryana to avail of cheaper and environmental friendly source of energy, he added.

He said that with a view to further accelerate the pace of economic development, Haryana has been soliciting investments from potential investors from countries like Japan.

South Korea, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany, have been showing keen interest in setting up their projects in Haryana.

The state has already received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of about Rs 8,100 crore. In addition, investment proposals worth Rs 43,000 crore from both domestic as well as international sources were in pipeline.

The Chief Minister said a number of steps have also being taken to reduce the regulatory burden by removing the bottlenecks and facilitating time bound clearances.

Work place rules have been simplified to bring about greater flexibility so that employers and workers could have more choices.

The industrial Policy, 2005 and Industrial Promotion Act, 2005 announced by the State Government, address these goals, besides projecting the state as an 'investor-friendly Destination'.

UNI