UP to enact law on time-bound clearances for industries

In an initiative aimed at ensuring time-bound issuance of clearances to industries, the Uttar Pradesh government Monday announced its decision to frame an exclusive law for the purpose.

The decision was taken after a presentation made before state Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani, said officials.

To be drafted by Udyog Bandhu, the mandate of the proposed Uttar Pradesh Industrial Services Guarantee Act includes provisions for delivering notified services within stipulated time limits and fixing accountability of licensing authorities for delay. Significantly, in a first, imposition of penalty on erring officers has also been proposed.

In the first phase, 14 services of seven departments - industries, electrical safety, fire safety, power, pollution control, labour and factories - will be included under the proposed act. As per the proposed draft, officers directly responsible for issuing approvals, no-objection certificates and other clearances will be nominated as 'Designated Officers', whereas, 'First Appeal Officers' of the department will admit the appeals of entrepreneurs against non-issuance of clearances within the time-period stipulated in the new law.

In case, the 'First Appeal Officer' finds lapse on the part of 'Designated Officer, he will be empowered to impose penalty on the erring official. Second appeal will lie with Second Appellate Authority. Pecuniary penalties proposed will be a maximum of Rs 50,000.

Terming this step crucial for improving doing-business environment in the state, Usmani said it will be a new and separate act catering exclusively to industries and enterprises in Uttar Pradesh, adding that this law will prove to be a potent tool to ensure time-bound clearances for the industries in the state.

The draft bill is expected to be placed before the state cabinet for approval by the end of next month.

Principal Secretary, Infrastructure & Industrial Development Sanjay Agarwal said that under the web-based online application submission system of Nivesh Mitra for entrepreneurs, it has been observed that around 25 percent applications are being disposed off beyond the timeline. The new measure is aimed at mitigating this delay.

Nivesh Mitra, the web-based system of application submission and fee deposition provides 36 services across 12 departments. It has been made mandatory for setting up all enterprises in the state excluding micro industrial units.