The Madhya Pradesh state industrial policy has got delayed further. Officially, the state cabinet today extended the date of the existing industrial policy 2004 till June this year. Earlier, the existing policy had been extended till March 31 this year as the government had planned to launch the new industrial promotional policy by April 2010.
The state government has postponed the launch of the policy six times, though the draft of the policy is ready. Although officials refused to speak on the issue, sources said, “The state government wants to include something for the food processing sector. Moreover, textile and garment manufacturers and the MSME sector are not happy with the draft of the proposed policy. They want more concessions and sops.”
Sources also said the state had decided to withdraw a few concessions and freebies offered to investors. These included rebate in the Value Added Tax.
The state cabinet has also cleared facilities to investors in the Gwalior region. They can now pay premium against land acquisition in installments. “Investors can pay 40 per cent of the premium against land allotment to Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, while they can pay rest of the amount in three equal installments. However, in case an industrial investor does not pay the amount in stipulated time, the allotment of the land will be cancelled,” a spokesperson said.
In another decision, the state cabinet has sanctioned an amount of Rs 1,150 crore for ‘Border Check Post’ project under the public-private partnership model. The MP Road Development Corporation will be the nodal agency for the purpose. According to the new proposal, to which the state cabinet has given its nod, the government will close down the check posts and will relocate them at new places. “The state government will soon acquire land areas for the purpose in Indore and Gwalior,” the spokesperson said. Indore connects the state to Maharashtra while Gwalior connects to Delhi and NCR region.