Harassment, says Punjab industry on mining dept’s recent notices

Even as Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann is inviting stakeholders from across the country to his state with its ‘ease-of-doing business’ policies, new investors as well as existing industry wishing to expand continue to feel ‘harassed’ as the recent notices sent by the mining department prevent them from starting construction without clearance from the department.

New investors in Punjab, who have just begun construction, are fuming over the language used in the recent notices which directed them to ‘stop all work’ and pay royalty before resumption.

The mining department is implementing a notification issued on August 22 this year according to which, anyone wishing to expand industry is required to deposit the royalty for earth fill at the rate of ₹2 per cubic feet. There was no such law prior to this date.

The subject line of the notices reads ‘Bina manjoori aur bina royalty diye commercial project chalaun sambhandhi ‘(Pertaining to commercial project being run without permission and without payment of royalty).

The notices further add that the industrialist is directed to stop all work and pay the royalty amount to the mining officer at his office in Ludhiana’s Dugri Phase 1.

An investor, on the condition of anonymity, said tall claims of the state government that it will give all mandatory clearances within a month have fallen flat. “It has been nine months and I am totally harassed from running from one department to another for clearances. I had set up a new unit on GT road in Ludhiana and it has been a harrowing experience,” he said.

“When I finally started the work after getting multiple clearances from various departments, mining department officials asked me to stop it. I want to ask the chief minister, is this ease of doing business? Who will come to Punjab to invest? In such a scenario, even the existing industry will leave,” he added.

Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking chairperson Upkar Singh Ahuja said he has written to the chief minister regarding the royalty and undue harassment faced by the investors. “Paying royalty for earth fill will escalate construction cost at a time when property rates for industry are also high. Such steps will kill the existing industry and also discourage investors from setting up units in the state,” he said.

Amit Thapar, chairperson of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Punjab, said ease of doing business has gone for a toss with such notices that have added to the stress of the industry.

“On one hand, the Punjab government is working hard to attract investors and we at CII are also helping by propagating advantages of investing in the state, but on the other hand, such notices come as a dampener at a time when other states are vying for investments. All this will hurt Punjab’s ease of doing business endeavour and rank,” he added.

Calls to principal secretary, water resources (mines and geology) Kishan Kumar, however, elicited no response.