UP firms head towards Hardwar

Ajay Relan group, Sahara lead the pack * Tax benefits main reason

There are several industries in Uttar Pradesh ready to exhaustively utilise the central industrial package for Uttaranchal, the latest being Sharda Motor Industries Ltd, a sister concern of the Rs 600-crore Relan Group of Industries, headed by Ajay Relan. The group is in the process of shifting its businesses from Noida to Hardwar.

Allured by the tax benefits and other modern facilities being offered by the Uttaranchal government, the group has decided to shift its Noida plant to the integrated industrial estate of Hardwar, being developed by the State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (SIDCUL).

This plant will have a fleet of presses, ranging from 60 tonnes to 400 tonnes, to process sheet metal components, modern weld shop, conveyorised powder-coating shop, and a modern assembly shop.

The initial investment for the plan will be Rs 14 crore, and it is estimated that the company will give employment to nearly 125 persons, Chopra said.

The construction activities at the new plant site have already started and commercial production is expected by December.

According to highly-placed sources, several industrial houses located in nearby border areas of Uttar Pradesh and Noida are holding talks with the Uttaranchal government to establish their units in the upcoming industrial estates like Hardwar and Pant Nagar.

When contacted, Industrial Development Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said Uttaranchal was attracting investments from all states of India and Uttar Pradesh was just one among them.

However, he said there were a lot of industries ready to shift to Uttaranchal. Sahara India Parivar has also entered into a tie-up with a South African computer firm to float a join venture unit in Hardwar.

The new company""Sahara Computers and Electronics Ltd""will invest Rs 250 crore in the Hardwar unit.

Already, Chief Minister N D Tiwari is taking keen interest in industry. He travelled to Hardwar last week to organise "bhoomi pujan" for Sahara Computers and Electronic Ltd at the Hardwar industrial estate.

Peeved over the move, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has already sent a missive to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding new packages on the lines of Uttaranchal.