SRINAGAR: The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to expedite the rollout of the new Industrial Policy, saying it should focus not only on attracting fresh investment but also on reviving existing stressed industrial units.
The industry body said a sizeable section of the MSME sector continues to face financial stress arising from years of disruptions, natural calamities, prolonged shutdowns and other circumstances that affected business operations.
Welcoming the government’s ongoing consultations on the proposed industrial policy, FCIK said its early finalisation would help provide relief to existing enterprises while creating a framework for new investments.
The federation said the policy should address three key areas simultaneously: promotion of new investment, support to existing industries and revival of stressed enterprises.
It also called for certain relief measures to be introduced without waiting for the formal notification of the comprehensive policy. Among these, FCIK sought a power amnesty for stressed industrial units.
Under the proposed amnesty, accumulated interest, surcharge and other penal charges on electricity dues should be waived, while genuine dues towards actual power consumption could be recovered through reasonable instalments, it said.
The federation also sought relief from accumulated demand charges for units that remained closed or operated at severely reduced capacity due to circumstances beyond their control.
Similar amnesties should be considered for interest, surcharge, penalties and late-payment charges accumulated on dues payable to government departments, industrial development corporations and other government-controlled agencies, FCIK said.
It said recovery efforts should focus on legitimate principal dues rather than historical penal charges that could hinder the revival of enterprises.
FCIK further stressed the need to address legacy bank debt as part of the revival process.
The federation said it, along with other major chambers, had already urged J&K Bank to introduce a special One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme broadly on the lines of SBI’s OTS-20 model.
Such a mechanism, it said, could provide eligible stressed borrowers with a transparent and uniform opportunity to settle old liabilities and close long-pending accounts.
FCIK said an OTS should not be treated merely as a recovery exercise, arguing that resolution of legacy debt could help viable enterprises clean up their balance sheets, restore banking relationships, access fresh working capital and resume operations.
The federation urged J&K Bank to align any proposed OTS with the government’s industrial revival initiative, saying policy support alone may not be sufficient if enterprises continue to carry unresolved financial liabilities.
FCIK proposed a coordinated revival framework comprising the new Industrial Policy, power and government-dues amnesties, settlement of legacy bank debt, fresh finance for viable units and measures to improve ease of doing business.
It said such an approach could help protect existing enterprises and employment while signalling to prospective investors that the region values businesses that have remained operational through difficult periods.
“A new Industrial Policy should not merely create new enterprises; it should also give a new life to enterprises that already exist,” FCIK said, adding that combining the policy with amnesties and a fair OTS could help turn legacy stress into productive assets, restored employment and renewed economic activity.
