Industry wants Akhilesh to harness 'Make in India' theme

Industry laments that UP was fast losing out to other states, including its neighbouring states such as Madhya Pradesh and Bihar

Industry on Monday exhorted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to harness the potential of Make in India, a programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for faster industrial development, in the state.

Industry said Uttar Pradesh was losing out to other states, including neighbouring states such as Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, on the Make in India campaign, owing to the lack of initiative and slow pace of work.

“Almost 90 per cent of the new projects under the Make in India have been proposed either in Gujarat or Maharashtra,” Indian Industries Association (IIA)’s Lucknow chapter President Manmohan Agarwal said at a conference call here.

Agarwal also said almost 70 per cent of the industrial units in Lucknow industrial areas were either sick or closed.

He further said the state government was aggressively pushing its flagship infrastructure projects, such as Lucknow Metro Rail and Agra-Lucknow Expressway, while the existing industrial enclaves had been neglected and issues related to industry lying unresolved.

Agarwal said the Centre had announced several new clusters for the state, such as textiles, plastic, leather, steel, furniture and export-oriented goods. “However, one year has passed and no cluster has fructified, which belies the pro-industry stance of the state government,” he said.

He said challenges before the industry include scarcity of the industrial land in the state, higher power rates, red-tapism and cumbersome systems in approval.

The government had last year announced to convert 30-year-old leasehold industrial plots to freehold. Several months have passed and the government order to this effect was not issued so far, he said.