Chandigarh, June 10 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday unveiled 12 initiatives for industrial growth, thereby launching an era of growth and prosperity for state’s industry.

Divulging details, Kejriwal said a set of 12 initiatives would revolutionise how industry in Punjab operates, how industry interacts with the government and how industry can unlock value of its land and become more competitive nationally as well as globally.

He said firstly the government will ensure deemed approval system in 45 days for all applications, thereby stipulating that all approvals and clearances for setting up a business or expanding an existing business will be issued in maximum of 45 working days.

Previously, Kejriwal said many clearances had notified timelines of 60 to 120 working days, and actual processing often took even longer, creating unpredictability in project execution.

Now, upon applying for a new business, within seven days the government will review the application online and inform the applicant about deficiency, if any, the removal of which will ensure they get all approvals within the remaining 45 days.

Additionally, he said a deemed approval system has also been enabled and if no decision is taken by the designated authority within the notified timeline, the fast-track Punjab portal will automatically generate an approval the next day, which holds the same legal validity as a regular clearance.

Kejriwal said this accountability-backed, system-driven reform makes Punjab a national model in investor facilitation surpassing even the most industrialised states such as Telangana, Karnataka, both governed by the Congress, Gujarat, Maharasthra, both the BJP governed, and Tamil Nadu.

The former Delhi CM said the portal provides end-to-end regulatory clearances for industry, institutional projects, and services sectors, backed by a digitally tracked workflow, auto-escalations, and real-time status updates, ensuring investors never have to “run from pillar to post”.

Also, he said the government has significantly expanded the scope of Right to Business Act and now if any industrialist is starting a project with an investment up to Rs 125 crore then they won’t even have to wait for 45 days for approvals.

Kejriwal said based on the self-declaration of industrialists, the government will give you in-principle approvals within three days if the project is located in an industrial park. And if the project is outside an industrial park, in-principle approvals will be given in 15 days.

–IANS

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