New Bill for speedy industrial clearances

The Bill aims to bring investor-friendly environment

• Applications for setting up industries will be cleared within 12-15 days
• Industrial corridors in Warangal, Mahabubnagar
• Textile parks to come up in Warangal, Sircilla

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Tuesday introduced ‘The Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self-Certification System, (TS-IPASS) Bill-2014 related to the clearance of new industries to be set up in the State. The Bill has been tabled with the key aim of ‘effecting timely clearances to the industrial units proposed to be set up in Telangana State’.

According to the Bill, it aims to create an investor-friendly environment in the State and the standard single-window nomenclature will be replaced by a distinctive Telangana identity.

The Bill provides for a Telangana State-wide Investment Facilitation Board (TSWIFT), which will be chaired by the Chief Secretary. Secretary-Industries will be the Member-Convener. Provisional approvals shall be given by the T-SWIFT Board within 15 days of receipt of self-certified applications after a preliminary scrutiny.

The Bill envisages setting up of a State committee, district committees and nodal agencies. It mandates the State Committee and the district committees to receive applications for all clearances for setting up industrial units with a proposed investment, up to the amount notified under Section 17 of the same Bill.

The Bill, after it becomes an Act, will repeal and replace the existing A P Single Window Clearance Act, 2002. The new Act provides for speedy processing of issue of various licenses, clearances and certificates required for setting up of industrial undertakings, for the promotion of industrial development in the new State. The State TS-IPASS committee will have the power to organise pre-scrutiny of the applications twice in a week, to verify and guide the applicant in submission of application in full shape.

The nodal agency shall provide secretarial support to the district committees and the State Committee. The nodal agency will pursue the clearance of applications with the competent authorities.

policy likely in 2 to 3 days
Eying huge investments, a new industrial policy giving top priority to single window clearance for the upcoming projects would be introduced in two or three days, Telangana State Panchayat Raj and IT Minister KT Rama Rao said on Tuesday.

Replying to a question posed by TRS MLAs Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar and others during Question Hour, KTR reiterated that the industrial policy would be the best in the country. He said the government was contemplating to introduce Right to Single Window Clearance to ensure that all applications for setting up industries were cleared within 12 to15 days. He also announced that the government would set up Hyderabad-Warangal and Hyderabad-Mahabubnagar industrial corridors and textile parks would be set up in Warangal and Sircilla. He said the government would introduce State-level Credit Guarantee Scheme and another programmes to enable locals to do business based on the natural resources available in their districts.

The Minister said power would be supplied as per the availability. The SC/ST entrepreneurs would be encouraged for establishing industries. He said steps would also be taken to revive the sick industries. KTR added that natural resources based industrial parks in all districts would also come up to generate employment and to increase productivity.

In his supplementary question, Vinay Bhaskar expressed regret over the closure of some historic industries Azam Jahi Mills which provided nearly 20,000 jobs. He requested the government to impart skill-based training to uneducated youth and 14-hour power supply to industries. Congress MLA Geetha Reddy objected to the Minister’s contention that previous Congress government did nothing to develop industries. She said the present government might aspire to do better than its predecessor, but it was wrong to say that Congress government did nothing during its regime. She urged the Minister to withdraw his remarks.