Chamber for developing Bhiwadi as industrial town

Bhiwadi will be on a roll, if suggestions of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) expert group on the 'Rapid Economic Development of Rajasthan' are taken seriously.

On the cards is developing a model industrial township in Bhiwadi. Urban and social infrastr-ucture including rail and road links to Delhi and neighbouring regions, housing, education, medical and recreational facilities should be developed to attract more units, the chamber said.

While interacting at Bhiwadi in the second of the series of round tables, organised by the chamber, experts said connectivity was crucial for encouraging investment.

For improving road and rail connectivity, there was a need to upgrade the inter-state highways, they said. The state government could approached the National Capital Region (NCR) Planning Board for funds to expedite the project, said an expert.

In Bhiwadi, Behror, Neemrana and Shahjanpur region, which constitute the Rajasthan sub-region of the NCR, a number of industrial estates have been developed.

With proximity to Delhi, this region can become an attractive investment destination. Efforts should be made to develop stronger links with the Delhi markets to enhance income generation and employment opportunities, experts said.

An exclusive textile zone along the National Highway 8 can be developed between Bhiwadi and Behror. This textile zone can be a single industry township having small, medium and large textile units covering spinning, weaving, knitting, processing dyeing, bleaching, printing and garment manufacturing units.

The corporate textile city and textile zone should house garment parks, spinning and weaving mills, process houses covering dyeing, bleaching, printing and finishing, and knitting units.

For a focussed industrial growth, a hosiery cluster may be set up in Bhiwadi for catering to process houses, readymade garments and related ancillaries, experts felt.

Setting up high quality infrastructure with common facilities for research and development, testing centres, enabling services, effluent treatment plant, besides others, was needed, the chamber said.

Rajasthan has a higher power tariff than the neighbouring states. The state power regulator should fix the wheeling charges to enable units to purchase power directly from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and other power producers at a lower cost.

According to the chamber, Neemrana can be developed as a centre for educational excellence, keeping in view its proximity to the international airport. The government should acquire land and offer it to the private sector at low rates, it said.

For the state to develop, huge investments through large projects are essential. But new investment is not coming to Rajasthan because of competition from states like Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh. The package of incentives offered by these states have made even the existing industries in Rajasthan un-competitive.

Rajasthan has made rapid strides in spreading education across the state. The statewide literacy rate has gone up to 61 per cent in 2001 from 38 per cent in 1991.

Rajasthan continues to reel under the weight of irksome truck unions which is also discouraging new industries from setting up units in the state.

While the state has a single window clearance (SWC) system for industries, the effectiveness of the same leaves a lot to be desired. The SWC should be strengthened by the enactment of an law under which implementation should be statutory.

G S Singhvi, Co-Chairman, Rajasthan Committee, PHDCCI, emphasized that to develop Bhiwadi as Greater Bhiwadi, on the lines Manesar, a senior IAS officer with a development agenda should be posted by RIICO (Rajasthan Industrial Investment Corporation) at Bhiwadi.

Industries of the region also suffer from poor financial infrastructure, a major deterent to the growth curve.