New Industrial Policy | Help J&K’s industrial units avail benefits: Altaf Bukhari

Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari Thursday demanded that all the industrial unit holders of Jammu and Kashmir who had started their ventures since 2019 should be made eligible to avail benefits under the new industrial policy.

A statement of Apni Party issued here quoted Bukhari as expressing serious concern over the exclusion of industrial unit holders who had made their investments in manufacturing plants and machinery or raised immovable assets since April 1, 2019.

   

“The Clause 7.5 which underlines incentives related to Capital Investment, Capital Interest Subvention and GST linked benefits is totally unjust and discriminatory in nature. The government should modify this clause and bring all the industrial unit holders since 2019 under its ambit in order to make this scheme a success,” he said.

Bukhari said Jammu and Kashmir had been witness to a turbulent period in 2019 coupled with an environment of pandemic and subsequent lockdown which brought the entire commercial activities to a standstill.

However, he said the New Central Sector Scheme for Industrial Development was a significant initiative for the revival of the industrial sector in Jammu and Kashmir but in the meantime, exclusion of 2019 born industrial units from the benefits of this scheme had given rise to the genuine feelings of discrimination and unwanted disparity.

“No separate yardsticks should be applied for effective implementation of this landmark central industrial developmental scheme which is aimed at reviving the industrial sector in J&K. Regrettably, the exclusion of industrial units set-up during 2019-20 is grossly in contradiction with the objectives laid down in the newly formulated industrial policy,” Bukhari said.

He said that such industrial units and small scale enterprises had to face the brunt of strict lockdown and a communication blockade in 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370.

“Adding to their sufferings, COVID-19 devastated the trade and manufacturing sector to the hilt. Now the industrial units, big or small, were hopeful that the new industrial package will help them overcome their huge losses. Ironically, the dismal approach adopted by the policymakers have left no relief clause for a vast section of industrial unit holders whose only sin is that they had started their ventures in 2019-20,” Bukhari said.

He appealed the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal  to intervene into the matter taking into consideration the sufferings of local industrialists, entrepreneurs and small-scale enterprise owners who had lost much to the chaos, turmoil and pandemic during the last two years in J&K.

“The eligibility for availing the incentives under the new industrial policy should be extended to all the industrial units in J&K with effect from April 1, 2019 irrespective of their date of commercial production and operation,” Bukhari said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

two × 2 =