May 8, 2015
WB Govt introduces new measures to ease setting up of industries
West Bengal Finance and Industries Minister Dr Amit Mitra announced new measures to simplify rules governing small and medium industries, describing them as “key steps to boost industrial growth” in Bengal.
“The cabinet sub-committee on industries and infrastructure today decided to initiate steps to make investment in Bengal simple. The steps have been initiated to provide a hassle-free environment for investment,” Dr Mitra said.
The procedural changes Dr Mitra announced would reduce red tape in securing incentives for micro, small and medium industries (MSME) and approval for using industrial water and getting building plans sanctioned in industrial parks.
Dr Mitra said the government had 4,000 acres in 23 industrial parks of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and 1 lakh acres in the land bank. “Thus, non-availability of land does not appear to be a barrier,” he said. The state has 38 industrial parks, of which 23 were with the WBIDC and the rest 15 with the WBIIDC, he said.
The new measures that would be taken are:
• Registration Certificate-I or Registration Certificate-II, procedures have been simplified to benefit the investors. For RC-I, now an investor in medium and big sector, would require six clearances instead of 20 required earlier.
• Similarly for RC-II, investors would now require only five clearances instead of 16 sought earlier, benefitting the industrialisation process.
• For clearance related to water to run industries, investors had to rush to the Water Resources department, but now on they would get this clearance directly from a District Level Authority following decentralisation of the procedure.
• For MSME sector, Provisional Trade Licenses would now be available for one year as soon as the primary formalities are completed. Later, Trade Licenses would be issued for three years after submission of all required documents.
• For incentives in the MSME sector, applicants would now require to submit only EM-2 (Entrepreneur Memorandum -2) Certificate. The need for submission of eligibility and registration has been abolished.
• The state government has also extended the time to keep shops and business establishments open from 8 AM to 10 PM instead of 7 AM to 7 PM earlier on condition that the Labour Law was not flouted
