Attracting industries to hilly areas an uphill task in Uttarakhand

The new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, faces the challenge of attracting industrialists to set up units in the hills of the state.

Under the hill industrial policy of 2008, mainly for small industries, which offers a slew of sops (including heavy transport subsidies), the government has not been able to ensure the setting up of a single manufacturing unit in the hills, mainly due to the on-going recession and the unavailability of suitable land.

“It is going to be a big challenge for the new Chief Minister to bring industries to the hills under the policy announced last year,” a top official said. During the past one year, Nishank’s predecessor B C Khanduri could not succeed despite trying gamely.

However the officials claim that investment proposals for hotel resorts and spas at key tourist sites have started trickling in. With the global recession casting a shadow on the hill industrial policy, the state government can take solace in the new proposals for resorts and spas, which it describes as SMEs.

Bharat Hotels is setting up a five-star hotel at Rishikesh, for which the government has already granted permission. Pindar Glacier Resorts is planning to invest Rs 2.25 crore in a hotel resort at Kodiyala on the banks of the Ganga near Rishikesh. The government has also received a couple of proposals for hotel resorts at Kempty Falls near the hill resort of Mussoorie.

Similarly, the government has received several proposals for the Tehri dam reservoir site, for which it has already set up a development authority. There are at least 23 new proposals for hotels and spas in Chamoli district, a hilly area where the Badrinath shrine is located. The government is also encouraging yoga and ayurvedic huts in the hills, and is in touch with yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

Under the special integrated industrial promotion policy 2008, the government is offering sops like up to 90 per cent rebate on VAT, free stamp duty, heavy transport subsidy and rebate on power tariffs.

The government claims that it has received investment proposals from various industries, but the sources said that not a single manufacturing unit has been set up in the hills due to the downturn.

Meanwhile, the government is also looking for new entrepreneurs in the fields of eco-tourism, adventure sports and service sectors, which can take advantage of the new policy. With the aim of attracting small units, the government is offering a slew of sops for a period of 10 years under the new hill industrial policy, which came into effect on April 1 last year.