Despite many attempts to promote industries in the State, the rate at which the number of industrial units is proliferating is not satisfactory. Without adequate and rewarding industrial growth, the State cannot make overall progress. Nor can unemployment be eradiated unless we have full-fledged industrial network. The fact of the matter is that our enterprise for industrial growth has been somewhat defeated by many complicated and burdensome rules and the way in which the bureaucracy has been creating complications for industrialists. Land, labour, capital and organization are the known four pre-requisites of setting up an industry.
A good number of proposals for establishing new industrial units are pending for clearance since a long time. The coalition Government, despite tall claim of clearing the projects, did not do justice to the idea of industrialization of the State. We are aware that the Government and the civil society are very conscious of two facts. One is that while establishing industries the ecological balance of the State should not get off the rails. Second is that new industries should not fracture social construct of society. It has been seen that many industries, for example, employ teen-aged kids to run certain errands and thus force the society to deprive the kids of education and good bringing up and turn them into beggars or mendicants.
In a meeting of the Apex Project Clearance Committee (APCC) of SIDCO, presided over by the chief secretary, many pending projects before the Committee were discussed and cleared for implementation. The chairman observed that land acreage has to be optimized to encourage units grow fully. The emphasis has been on the use of advanced technology that has all the benefits of maintaining the ecological balance, maximizing output, improving the quality of production items and proper marketing. We know that the State Government has offered some incentives for establishing new industrial units in both regions of Kashmir and Jammu. We hope that such industries as are commensurate with the climate and topography and other conditions like manpower, availability of raw material etc. in respect of Ladakh will also be extended incentives to see them flourish. The previous Government had promise that ailing public sector industrial units would be supported and revived. This is an important task before the Government. Clearing of several projects of SIDCO will generate the hope that industrial health of the State will recover and a network of industries will b e established in due course of time in the State.
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