Simplify process for regulatory clearances to industries: CS

Chandigarh: Taking another step forward to realise the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s commitment to further reduce compliance burden on the industries and implement the Punjab Anti-Red Tape Act in its true spirit, Punjab Chief Secretary, Ms Vini Mahajan, on Thursday, directed the departments of Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) and Local Government (LG) to simplify and streamline the processes for issuance of various regulatory clearances in the state.

Extending a major relief to the industrialists, she fixed a seven-day deadline for the departments concerned to raise objections on the applications seeking mandatory permissions.

Chairing a meeting of senior officials here, the Chief Secretary said the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Government was committed to ensure the ease of doing business in Punjab and has pulled all stops to further simplify and streamline the systems and processes for according regulatory clearances.

The Punjab Anti-Red Tape Act mandates to reduce the compliance burden by at least 50 per cent within 6 months by re-engineering the processes. The H&UD and LG departments will work in tandem to reduce the documentation required for granting the compulsory clearances.

Prevailing upon the officers to raise the objections, if any, within 7 days of receipt of the applications with no new objections to be flagged thereafter, the Chief Secretary instructed the higher officials of both the departments to inform the investors in advance about the documents required for a particular clearance under the government’s resolve to attract investments and promote ease of doing business in the state.

Ms Mahajan categorically asked the officials not to seek any additional document outside the prescribed list from the investors for ensuring hassle-free clearances within the stipulated time frame.

She also directed the officials of the Investment Promotion department to update the list of documents required for clearances on the Invest Punjab’s business first portal.

The meeting decided to further reduce the documentary requirements for the industrialists planning to expand or diversify their existing operations in the state. The departments were instructed to fetch the documents from their internal records as much as possible instead of asking the same afresh from the investors.

The Chief Secretary advised the officials to reduce the long hierarchy followed in the departments, which results in delay for issuance of clearances and in turn disinterests the investors.

The meeting was attended by the Principal Secretaries Sarvjit Singh (Housing and Urban Development), Alok Shekhar (Investment Promotion), Ajoy Kumar Sinha (Local Government), CEO Invest Punjab Rajat Agarwal and JCEO Invest Punjab Avneet Kaur.