Srinagar, July 8: With government playing indifferent, Valley’s oldest industrial estate at Zainakote here is facing some serious problems in the face of infrastructure deficit and forces’ presence. 
Sources disclosed that a large number of units in the IE are defunct. “Besides, there are units which have been abandoned by the Pandits way back in 1990s in the wake of their migration from the Valley,” sources said, adding that the government has failed to take effective steps to re-allot such units to new entrepreneurs who could make them functional.
Sources said despite government efforts, it has failed to bring back the Pandit entrepreneurs. “These units are dead for past about two decades now, yet the government is not taking any effective step to make them functional,” the Zainakote entrepreneurs said.
They said they would be happy if the Pandit entrepreneurs returned, “but they seem uninterested to set their businesses here again.”
A senior official in J&K Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Limited (SICOP) pleading anonymity said: “The forces have been in four units comprising 35 kanals of land. The units include Kashmir Alcolides which has 32 kanals, Supreme New Light Candles, Wilson Cables, and Kashmir Switchgear each having one kanal.”
He said the unit holders were getting huge amount of rent from the forces while giving a small amount of rent to SICOP. “They are paying rent at Rs 250 per kanal to SICOP, but they are charging rent at much higher rates from the forces,” he said.
Sources said the government had earlier passed orders for their relocation. “As per those orders they were supposed to be relocated by March 2010,” they said.
The unit holders said the forces have erected barricades which create hurdles in the smooth movement of the vehicles coming to and leaving from the Estate.
“Around 100 unit holders in the Estate want to expand their units and this property could be allotted to them, in absence of any land available nearby,” suggested president Small Scale Industrial Association Zainakote, Shahjahan Khan.

INFRASTRUCTURE-DEFICIT
The industrialists complained that there is no round-the-clock electricity in the Estate. “We have learnt that the industries and commerce department is not releasing the funds for the installation of transformers in the Estate,” they said.
“Secondly, due to low voltage machines malfunction and work gets affected,” said Javeed Haroon, an entrepreneur. 
He said the Estate sans fencing.  “There is no industrial security here as a result some burglary attempts were reported in the past,” he added.
Managing Director, SICOP, R K Razdan said that out of 191 units, only 112 are functional. He said that 17 units of migrants are defunct. 
He said: “Several meetings were held with defense people to leave the Estate but they have not vacated yet.”
Despite repeated attempts, Joint Director Industries and Commerce Department Bilal Ahmad could not be contacted.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 8 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 8 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 9 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST