Uttarakhand chambers oppose jobs verification in industries

Industry chambers in Uttarakhand have criticised the government for setting up a monitoring committee for job verification in new industries set up under the tax holiday scheme.

In view of a directive to the industry to provide 70 per cent jobs to local youths, the Uttarakhand government has now set up a committee to verify the number of jobs being created in new industrial units.

Taking exception to the setting up of the committee, the Indian Industries Association (IIA) of Uttarakhand President Pankaj Gupta slammed the government for creating the monitoring committee, saying it would badly affect the industrial process in the state.

Industry is the only sector which is growing. By setting up such a committee, the industrialisation would be badly affected as it would send wrong signals," Gupta said.

Gupta added that he would take the matter to the Chief Minister.

Yogesh Jindal, owner of Shivangi Crafts Ltd and former President of Kumaon Garhwal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI), said any such move would bring back the draconian "inspector raj" system and asked the government not to meddle with the internal affairs of the industries.

An official release quoting Principal Secretary (Industrial Development) PC Sharma said Chief Minister BC Khanduri had directed the department to start the committee comprising SDMs concerned, regional managers of industrial estates, general managers of district industry centres and district employment officers.

The release said Khanduri stressed the need for creating skilled manpower in the state in collaboration with various industrial associations. In this regard, it was pointed out that the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had already adopted four

ITIs to train local youths catering to the needs of the industries.

A government order asking the industries to create 70 per cent jobs for the local youths has already been issued, Sharma said.

However, this government order was not being complied with by the industries effectively, he noted.

In this context, the government has set up the monitoring committee to verify the jobs being created for local youths by the new industries.

A total of 844 industrial units have already been started in different parts of the state under the tax holiday scheme, the release said. In these industries, 52,971 jobs were created with 72 per cent of them going to local youths, it added.