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Mr. Subhash Desai, minister for Industries, Government of Maharashtra, informed the state legislative assembly that the state would establish a development corporation to promote small scale industries (SSIs). He said the state industries department was also monitoring whether the decision to give locals 80 per cent jobs in industries was implemented.
The government will allocate land in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) areas to these units and channelise various schemes for their benefit.
"The government is trying to reduce the high number of permissions for different industries," he said, adding that they had brought down the number of these licences to 46 from 76 and had a policy to bring it down further to 25.
The permissions needed from municipal bodies to start industries have been reduced to 11 from 27, and the time taken to secure construction permits has come down to just 50 days from the earlier 162.
After the Centre's 2013 land acquisition law (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013), no land acquisition notices were issued, said Desai.
The state had begun issuing notices with the consent of the Centre and the law department. The state had begun the process to take back plots of land in MIDC areas which had been taken by industries but kept vacant and, in three months, around 1,500 such plots have been taken back and will be distributed to those who are committed to erecting units fast, he added.
Desai also informed that the state government is also planning to make power tariffs cheaper for them like in other states to ensure that industries come to Maharashtra and their operations are competitive.
Responding to a question by Shiv Sena's Arjun Khotkar on power tariff, Desai admitted that power tariffs for industries were higher in Maharashtra than in other states and added that they would hold discussions with the power minister and the chief minister for a way out.