By Punjabnewswire4u
AMRITSAR, OCT 5
The
Punjab Government and the TATA Group initiated a large scale engagement to take
the state to the next level of
development and make Punjab a key destination of the country’s premier
business, trade and industrial
power-house in a wide-ranging sweep of projects, which cover building top-end model
townships, power, renewable energy,
world class hotel chains, solid and water waste management, modernising the
state’s already solid infrastructure
along global lines and introducing state-of-the art rapid transport facility in major
cities and towns of state.
The
Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal also announced to constitute a high
level committee of the officers from the state government under the Chief
Secretary which would have detailed parleys with the Tata group for firming up
the investment proposals.
The
TATAs under-lined their keen interest in the state as a major investment destination, as they
brought one of their strongest teams ever to visit a state on a business mission, headed by their
Chairman Mr. Cyrus
Mistry, comprising MD TRIL Mr. Sanjay Ubale, Members GEC TATA Mr. Madhu
Kanan and Dr. Nirmalya Kumar, MD TATA Reality Mr. Phillip Karkaria, Head TATA
Housing Mr. Shashi Kumar, Head Government TSUs Mr. Tanmay Charvarthy, Chairman
TATA Skills Mr. HN Srinivas and others.
The
Group also showed a strong inclination to join and supplement the efforts of the state government
in taking the state to the next level
of development in education, health infrastructure and e-governance, including on-line
citizen delivery system, which forms the central component of governance reforms being spearheaded
by Deputy Chief Minister
Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Mr.
Mistry gave an indication of the seriousness of purpose behind his visit when he showered liberal,
praise on the state
government, saying in his view the government was “not only the warmest and most
spontaneous but also extremely serious and businesslike” in its approach, while addressing a meeting
of his high-powered
mission and top-ranking government officials of the state in the presence of the Chief Minister
Mr. Parkash Singh Badal and the Deputy Chief Minister.
The
Chairman also spoke about large-scale projects with huge employment potential for local youth,
saying that his Group believed in
training and employing local youth for a mutually beneficial interaction.
Significantly,
this was Mr. Cyrus Mistry’s second visit to the state and his third meeting with the Chief Minister in less than six
months, giving an indication of the proposed level of engagement that he
foresees for his Group in
development activity in the state. In addition, Mr. Mistry has also met the Deputy Chief Minister
Sukhbir Singh Badal
twice during this period.
The
Chief Minister assured the Group Chairman that his government would “act fast” on development
projects. For this, we have already set in motion a process known as ‘Governance Reforms’ aimed at
cutting red tape and
ensuring efficiency, transparency and accountability in decision making. Mr.
Badal said that the Reserve Bank of India had rated Punjab as one of the three best
investment destinations in the country.
The state had the most congenial industrial relations and business climate and there was an
atmosphere of complete peace and communal
harmony in the state, something that was vital for investment and development. Infrastructure in the state
has repeatedly been rated as the
best in the country and so has been its profile as a rich consumerist state.
Underlining
the need for massive industrial development in the state, the Chief Minister
said that it would give the much required boost to its overall development
besides opening new vistas of trade and commerce for the Punjabis. Mr. Badal
said that due to the path breaking initiatives taken up by the state government
Punjab has today emerged as a leading investment destination in the country.
Expressing
keenness to collaborate with the Tata Group in the fields of Renewable Energy,
Hotel Industry, On-line Citizen Service Delivery Portal, Model Townships, Bus
Rapid Transport System as also e-Learning for School Education, the Chief
Minister said that he had already asked the concerned officers of the state
government to interact with the team of the Tata Group to ensure that the said
projects were in place. Mr. Badal said that he was sure that such a
collaboration would go a long way in the development and industrialisation of
the State and offer many more opportunities to its residents. He informed Mr.
Mistry that the state government has recently approved a liberal Package of
Incentives for attracting new Investments into the State.
The Chief
Minister said that for the first time, a unique Policy of VAT and
CST retention has been allowed, in addition Electricity Duty
Incentive, Stamp Duty Incentive and Property Tax Incentive were available,
besides special incentives pertinent to specific sectors adding that due to the
concerted efforts of the state government, Punjab would soon become a power
surplus state. Impressing upon the Chairman of TATA group to make huge
investments in the state, Mr. Badal said that the state government was committed
to ensure a congenial investment friendly atmosphere in Punjab.
During
discussions, the Deputy Chief Minister while underscoring the need for
providing quality services to the residents of the state said that the Tata
sons must support the state government in effectively delivering civic services
to the people besides solving the problems like disposal of waste water, solid
waste management and others which were a cause of major concern for the civic
bodies. Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal also laid thrust on the need for improving the
Health care facilities and the civic administration in the cities. The Deputy
Chief Minister also solicited the support of Tata group for developing the
cities of Punjab as model cities equipped with the world class civic amenities.
Assuring
fulsome support and co-operation to the Tata group in this matter, the Deputy
Chief Minister said that the state government has already initiated a slew of
reforms to promote industrial development in the state. He said that a new
Hotel policy to encourage investment in the Hotel sector was already on cards
adding that it would further encourage the prospects of this industry in the
state.
The
Group Chairman Mr. Cyrus P Mistry unveiled a wide-ranging sweep of projects
that covered various important sectors. Mr. Mistry apprised both the
leaders that the group would make massive investment in infra structure
projects to be conceived by the state government in the coming time. He said
that the company was also working on a number of housing projects in
Chandigarh, Mohali and Ludhiana which would enable the people to get world
class housing facilities. Mr. Mistry also informed the Chief Minister and
Deputy Chief Minister that the company was coming up with a number of projects
in Hotel industry in cities like Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Mohali and
others.
The
Chairman of Tata sons also informed that the company was already working on the
project regarding the optimum utilisation of the solar energy by installing
rooftop solar projects over the government buildings. Likewise Mr. Mistry said
that a proposal to produce solar energy by utilising the land over water canals
was also in pipeline. He said that the company was also working on a project to
aptly utilise the municipal waste to produce energy in the cities.
Prominent
amongst those present on the occasion included Cabinet Ministers Mr. Bikram
Singh Majithia, Mr. Anil Joshi and Mr. Madan Mohan Mittal, Chief Secretary Mr.
Rakesh Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. SK Sandhu, Principal
Secretary Industries Mr. Karan Avtar Singh, Principal Secretary Education Mrs.
Anjali Bhawra, Secretary Housing Mr. A Venuprasad, Special Principal Secretary
to Chief Minister Mr. KJS Cheema, Secretary Local Bodies Mr. Ashok Gupta,
besides several other senior officers of the state government.
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