Uttaranchal gets 732 investment proposals

Signalling a healthy industrial growth, the Uttaranchal government said in the Assembly today it had received 732 investment proposals after the announcement of new industrial policy early this year.

Of this, 156 industrialists had submitted their proposals to the tune of Rs 700 crore for setting up units in the industrial estate, coming up in Hardwar, Industrial Development Minister Kishor Upadhya said.

"We have got tremendous response after the announcement of new industrial policy," Upadhya said. He said 13,500 people were expected to get jobs because of new investment proposals.

Besides the Hardwar industrial estate, the government had also received 86 investment proposals for the up-coming Pant Nagar industrial estate in the Kumoan region, the minister said.

When asked about the development of industries in the hilly region, he said the government was setting up the integrated industrial development centres (IIDCs) with the support of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi).

Intervening in the debate, Chief Minister ND Tiwari said the government was trying its best to make a conducive atmosphere for the growth of industries in the state.

He said the government was in touch with the Centre to revive the HMT unit in Hardwar. "All the new decisions in our industrial policy were taken with the consonance of our talks with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee," Tiwari said.

Meanwhile, the government today brought a new Bill, diluting the harsh measures in the land ordinance that triggered widespread protests in the state in the last four months, incorporating various suggestions of a select committee.

Tabling the Uttaranchal (the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950) Adaptation and Modification Order, 2001(Amendment) Act, 2003 Bill in the Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hridayesh expressed the hope that the new measure would be able to check the uncontrolled sale-purchase of agriculture land and curb the land mafia.

The Bill, which seeks to stop non-farmers from purchasing agriculture land, may be included from time to time in any municipal corporation, nagar panchayat, nagar parishad and cantonment board limits. Earlier, all these municipal limits had been excluded from the Bill.

The government has also lifted a partial ban on the power of attorney, which was earlier banned under the land ordinance. Now any person can seek transferable rights for the land purchase through a special permission from the district magistrate.

As per the provisions of the Bill, any person on behalf of his family, which includes husband, wife and minor children, can purchase land not exceeding 500 square meter in his lifetime without the permission of the government.

The government on September 12, 2003 issued a land ordinance that imposed a blanket ban on the power of attorneys and also stopped non-farmers and outsiders from purchasing new agriculture land.