Punjab urges Centre to prepare natural resource data for packages

Jalandhar, Jul 9 (UNI) Punjab Industries and Commerce Minister Manoranjan Kalia today urged the Centre to prepare a blue-print of natural resources prevalent in different states to provide industrial packages.

''Instead of providing general packages to states, the Central Government should focus on providing special packages on the basis of natural resources present in that particular state,'' Mr Kalia said at the subsidy distribution function here.

On the occasion, nearly Rs 35 crore as capital subsidy were distributed to 372 village-based industrial units of the state for industries promotion.

He said giving general package to any particular state would hamper its economy and as a result the industry would migrate, resulting in loss of man and material.

While demanding special package for agro-based industries in Punjab for optimum use of present resources, Mr Kalia said the Union Government, instead of providing general package to states like Himachal Pradesh, should have given package for generation of hydro power.

Mr Kalia said he would soon meet the Union Ministers for extending the freight and industrial corridor from Ludhiana to Amritsar.

He added that the state government had sent a proposal to the Centre to create 10 clusters of micro, small and medium industries in the state, including a hand-tool industry cluster in Jalandhar.

He announced that the state government had sanctioned a sum of Rs 4.50 crore for building infrastructure for focal point in Jalandhar which would later be transferred to municipal corporation for its maintainance.

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