$2B investment in Chhattisgarh industrial policy

Friday, 05 November 2004, 20:30 IST
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RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government is set to unveil its maiden industrial policy Saturday, with a promise to secure investment worth 100 billion in the next one year. Top sources said the policy, to be announced by Chief Minister Raman Singh, would benefit medium scale industries as government has decided to bring a uniform entry tax policy. "We have decided to provide entry tax rebate to all the business houses for a five-year period. Besides some good capital subsidy on sales tax, the basic thrust will be on cottage industry and encouraging business houses to set up plants in tribal-stronghold areas to generate employment and improve the quality of life of tribes," Finance and Industry Minister Amar Agrawal said. The new policy will an offer attractive compensation package to all those surrender land to industrial houses for setting up plants, he said. The government will set up two major industrial growth centres and each one will house over 200 steel production units. The growth centres will be developed somewhere between Raipur and Janjgir. The sources said the new policy would make no distinction between major and small industries. In fact, it would protect small and medium scale industries for setting up units in tribal dominated Bastar and Sarguja regions. "The major business houses, including Sterlite-group controlled BALCO and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), having a major industrial complex at Raigarh, were given entry tax rebate by the previous Congress government but other steel factories were deprived of such privilege, which stemmed balanced industrial growth of state," said a top official of the industry department. The government set up State Mining Development Corporation last month and made it mandatory for companies to explore for diamond only in association with the corporation. As many as six companies, including South Africa's De Beers, are vying in the state for the kimberlite group of rocks that has large, world quality diamond deposits.
Source: IANS