Srinagar, February 16: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta today interacted with representatives of Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), who called on him here today at Civil Secretariat.
During a marathon interaction, a range of vital issues pertaining to the industrial sector were discussed in detail.
Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce (I&C), Ranjan Prakash Thakur; Director I&C, Kashmir, Mehmood Ahmad Shah and other officers of I&C department also participated in the interaction both in person and through video conferencing.
The representatives of FCIK sought devising a local purchase policy mandating procurement by the government departments from local MSME units to enable them to survive in the market. They also demanded clearance of payments pending with the government departments as well as allotment of land to all those bonafide prospective entrepreneurs, who applied for the same as per the parameters prescribed by the government. They also demanded exemption of Bat manufacturers and Pencil makers from SRO-103, besides ease of some clauses in tendering procedure for industrial unit holders of J&K.
Responding to the issues raised by the delegation, the Chief Secretary reiterated that the revival of the industrial sector was the prime objective of the LG administration and several initiatives have been taken for Ease of Doing Business here. He added that the government was improving the use of technology and digital means in government departments and in recent months over 200 services have been made online bringing a significant improvement in the services delivery mechanism.
Dr. Mehta, while deliberating on the issues raised by the FCIK representatives, directed the I&C department to draft a comprehensive proposal for making the unit holders competitive for government tenders. He further directed to complete the process of granting permission for industrial clusters.
While assessing the progress of the industrial sector and proposed future plans, the Chief Secretary directed the I&C department to initiate a research study to decode the local industrial potential and impediments which hinder the progress of this sector.
Regarding the issue of delay in payments, the Chief Secretary highlighted that with the introduction of e-tendering, BEAMS and PaySys, the delay of payments within government departments has been reduced to a large extent.
Dr. Mehta advised the representatives to make use of different digital platforms of the J&K government launched recently for better service delivery both to the public and business community.
While deliberating on other issues raised by the FCIK representatives, the Chief Secretary assured them that all their genuine demands will be looked into and resolved on priority.
