Convert industrial plots from leasehold into freehold: Panel

During the visit of the committee members, several organisations and associations had submitted representations regarding their demands. The committee has given its observations on these demands and made recommendations to the Home Ministry.

UT Adviser K K Sharma said, “A preliminary discussion on the recommendations of the committee was held with officers of various departments today. The departments will submit their replies and these will be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs by next week.”

Conversion of leasehold properties into freehold is a long-pending demand of local industrialists. All industrial properties auctioned or allotted after 1980 were given on a leasehold basis. Before this, the properties were given on a freehold basis.

As much as 60 per cent of the industrial properties are leasehold and industrialists contend that they cannot get loans against such properties, or sell these.

The committee has further recommended that the administration should take immediate action to notify an industrial policy. “The MHA should impress upon the UT Administration for redrafting a new industrial policy in consonance with the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises Development Act, 2006. The administration should invite objections/suggestions from stakeholders of the industry before finalising the policy,” says the report.

It has also been recommended that the administration should reduce the “misuse charges’’ for various violations on priority and notify these at the earliest. The misuse charges, at present, are levied at Rs 500 per sq feet per month and industrialists and traders complain these are too high.

The committee has recommended that the MSMED Act, 2006, should be implemented properly in UT and more activities be allowed in the Industrial Area. The committee states that “early action be taken to drop the notices already issued by the Estate Office for misuse because of other activities being carried out in Industrial Area in place of manufacturing activities”.

The committee members have recommended that the status of roads, garbage disposal, sanitation and drainage in the Industrial Area should be regularly checked. Also, allowing some need-based changes in industrial properties may be looked into.