Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta took detailed review of the Industries & Commerce Department besides taking stock of the investments being made here in the UT of J&K.

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce; Directors of Industries, Jammu/Kashmir; Directors of Handloom & Handicrafts, Jammu/Kashmir; MD SIDCO & SICOP, MD JKTPO and many other concerned officers.

While taking stock of the investment proposals made through single window clearance system the Chief Secretary was apprised that out of the investment proposals totalling more than ₹ 60000 Cr, industrial units worth around ₹ 10000 crore are already under different phases of execution here in the UT.

Elaborating it was given out that after allotment of land in favour of these unit holders they had in turn deposited a sum of ₹ 217 Cr into the government exchequer as their lease dues.

Dr Mehta impressed upon the officers to strictly adhere to the single window system and timelines to ensure that industrial units get established smoothly and creates employment opportunities for our youth besides strengthening the economy.

The Chief Secretary emphasized that the remaining reform points out of 352 recommended by BARP for industrial development should be implemented within this month.

Dr Mehta further said that the administration would incentivize the good work put up by the Deputy Commissioners in attracting new investments in their districts. He further stated that all DCs would be evaluated on few parameters of creating enabling environment for investments.

The Chief Secretary also emphasized on making the Kashmir Haat and Jammu Haat vibrant trade centres. He asked the concerned Directors to take measures to turn them into business hubs round the year. He also stated that Rural Haats should be established at Panchayat level with upscaling at block and District level.

The meeting was informed that more than 3300 applications has been approved by HLLAC with Letter of Intent (LoI) issued in favour of 1879 applicants and lease deeds executed by 260 applicants. It was also made out that in 111 industrial estates 9869 Kanals of land has so far been allotted to the prospective unit holders.

Regarding new estates it was said that 37 DPRs had been prepared by SIDCO and SICOP worth more than ₹ 2200 crore besides receiving applications for 2 private estates also. The meeting also discussed the dozens of proposals received by the department for establishing health care projects in the two medi-cities of J&K.

The meeting also deliberated upon the progress made on investments made by foreign companies in the UT. It had detailed discussion on various proposals made by these companies after signing of MoU with the UT administration. These includes Dubai based businesses like EMAAR Group, Noon.com, Al Maya Group, GL Employment, MATU Investments and others.