Kejriwal's boost for small scale industries in Delhi

New CM does away with mandatory pollution, municipality permits for MSMEs

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government here has done away with the need to secure crucial permits for setting up small-scale industries in the national capital. Now, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will not require a consent-to-establish (CTE) certificate from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and a trade licence from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to obtain an acknowledgment letter under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006.

The Delhi government said since the MSMED Act was enforced, the CTE certificate and the trade licence were “a major stumbling block in ease of doing business in Delhi for traders”.

“These steps deterred traders from obtaining acknowledgment under the MSMED Act. Further, obtaining licences led to delay and harassment, affecting the ease of doing business,” a senior government official said, adding a lot of applications related to manufacturing and services sector were pending due to these requirements.

Sources said though the MSMED Act was a central legislation, acknowledgment letters in this regard were issued by local governments.

“This is a very encouraging move by the AAP government. These licences were a major hurdle for setting up factories in Delhi. This will certainly encourage budding entrepreneurs to set up factories without any hassle,” said N M P Jeyesh, head (SME) and director, Confederation of Indian Industry.

Jeyesh also voiced concern over the alarming air pollution levels in Delhi and said the government should consider promoting eco-friendly industries.

Last week, the high court here had cited the “alarming” air pollution levels. The National Green Tribunal had voiced similar concern last month, when it had found factories were being granted environmental clearances in the city’s critically polluted industrial areas.

In 2010, the Najafgarh drain basin here, which includes the Okhla, Naraina, Anand Parbat and Wazirpur industrial areas, was classified  as “critically polluted”, based on the central government’s comprehensive environmental pollution index.

In doing away with the mandatory pollution board consent, the AAP government has followed the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre, which had issued a similar advisory to states. In a letter to state governments on December 31 last year, the Union environment ministry had said these provisions were “adversely” affecting new projects and overall industrial development in various states.

Under the water and air Acts, it is mandatory for industries to obtain a CTE certificate from the state pollution control board concerned; this is also applicable in case of expansion of output or any technological change.

Labour issues

The AAP government has also prohibited termination of state government contract labours till further orders. “The services of contractual employees engaged by departments should not be terminated till further instructions in the matter,” read an order issued by the Department of Services, Delhi.

The government was reviewing the policy on the “status of contractual employees engaged in various departments and organisations” under the Delhi government, the order added.

There were about 125,000 contract workers engaged in various departments of the Delhi government, said a senior labour ministry official.