SRINAGAR: Federation Chamber of Industries (FCIK) has expressed its resentment on the land allotment policy of the Government.

In a statement issued the Executive Council of the FCIK has strongly condemned the land allotment policy during the meeting held at FCIK house and multiple amendments made in past few months regarding the Land allotment.

FCIK in a statement said that the portal of www.jkinvest.in was launched and the investment guidelines were issued on 22.4.2021 for inviting the applications. Since then the portal was opened and approximately 2500 applications were uploaded, out of which appraisal of nearly 90% of applications are already conducted. In the meantime, High-Level Committee meetings were also held and the designated committee has also allotted some huge chunk of land to a few Unitholders in Jammu and in Kashmir too. In addition, the Government comes up with the change in committees, i.e. abolishing all Divisional level committees and constitution of a single high-level committee for allotment upto 200 kanals of land.

Further, guidelines in terms of score points for investment, these guidelines have been made applicable to all applications received on portal and already apprised by the designated District level committee headed by Joint Director Industries. We fail to understand as to why yard stick has been changed, when it comes to the local entrepreneurs. Government must be aware that after guidelines were leaked by some WhatsApp group approximately 800 applications have been uploaded on portal within a shortest period of only 10 days, which becomes very suspicious, but the general applicants were kept in dark and the applicants who have applied post issuance of guide lines by way of points were already in know of these guide lines. Approximately 2500 applications were received in seven months all over Kashmir Zone and 800 applications received within only 10 days. It is worth to mention here that guidelines for allocation of points in investment are different in Kashmir and with the special features for Jammu Division. Whereas Jammu investment points include working capital also, so as to give more points than Kashmir. Taking working capital as part of investment needs introspection as working capital has never been a part of investment globally.

FCIK in a statement said that entrepreneurs who have applied for land without any defined parameters are unnecessarily been put to valuation method of newly introduced investment points. Whereas major chunk of land has been allotted to few blue eyed entrepreneurs in J&K on the same previous system of first come first service basis alongwith appraisal basis surprisingly parameters now devised for rest of the applicants, which means the large industrial units are getting preference and small prospective unit holders are not given any weightage in land allotment as they could setup more numbers of industrial units by providing them small plot size of land.

The department has called for second and third preferences of industrial estates from the applicants now after seven months by calling for preferences, the department is dropping out entrepreneurs in as estate, who had applied there. It seems that committee wants to pool estates and call for preference/choice of estates when it has not been envisaged by the industrial policy and was not made known to the applicants during submission of applications. FCIK queries that how the parameters are devised now, when 90% appraisal has been completed without the marking system in place now, then what’s the role of recommendations of Appraisal Committee.

Further, Prospective Unitholders recommended by the District Industries Centre to the SIDCO have paid 10% of land premium since 2016. These applicants are awaiting for land allotments and the guidelines to be adopted for such cases are pending.

FCIK demands that the government should madeland allotment to those bona fide prospective unitholders, who have applied with their proper applications on the same parameters by way of which the Government has earlier allotted huge chunk of l and at J&K.

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