Plea for changes in Odisha's draft IPR-2015

Utkal Chamber of Commerce & Industy and Journalists' Forum demand provisions for time-bound disposal of industry applications

Seeking changes in the draft Industrial Policy Resolution 2015 prepared by the Odisha Government to facilitate and accelerate business, a trade body has sought notification of the operational guidelines along with the new policy.

While making a number of suggestions on doing away with a few discrepancies and anomalies found in the draft Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR), Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industy (UCCI) and Journalists' Forum have demanded provisions for time-bound disposal of industry applications.

UCCI President Ramesh Mohapatra underscored the importance of setting timeframe for clearance which is not specified in the draft policy.

For large projects requiring approval of State Level Nodal Agency (SLNA) and State Level Single Window Clearance Agency (SLSWCA), the timeframe for clearance should be specified at 120 days or 90 days, suggested Mohapatra.

He also added that for single window clearance for small and medium projects, the District Level Nodal Agencies (DLNA) should not take longer than 60 days.

While suggesting that accountability must be fixed for all officials responsible for procrastination, IPR should incorporate deemed approval mechanism.

Both the Journalists' Forum and members of UCCI suggested that Revenue Divisional Commissioners (RDCs) instead of District Collectors should be made the Chairman of District Level Single Window Agencies.

"As Collectors remain very busy, they do not find time for chairing Single Window Committees at district level. There are instances of two years of delay in getting such clearance which UCCI can cite of specific cases only due to non-availability of Collectors", Mohapatra said.

However there was consensus on the government ensuring simultaneous notification of IPR and operational guidelines.

The IPR should specify the simplification and rationalisation mechanism proposed for regulatory and inspection purposes, said the members, urging the government to specify various procedures proposed to be rationalised in the IPR itself and to bring out the rules and regulations simultaneously along with the IPR.