In a bid to provide a major boost to the development of eco-friendly industries in Punjab, the state government has decided to grant Consent to Establish (CTE)/ Consent to Operate (CTO) to 'green category' industries within a single day of applying for the same.
In line with the ongoing motto of improving the ease of doing business and attracting greater investment, the state has decided to base the same on ‘self-certification’.
According to official communication by the Department of Industries and Commerce, this initiative would further strengthen the industrial base in the state besides acting as a pivot to attract more investments. This is hoped to help in clearing the way for a quick exit from COVID-19-imposed economic woes.
It may be noted that earlier these clearances were granted to the industry only after visiting the site, which used to take an average time of 21 days. With the new orders, now CTEs/CTOs under the green category would be granted on the very day of filing the application via the online portal. The service has already been made available to industries by Punjab Pollution Control Board by starting the automatic grant of said clearances.
According to the department, even during the COVID-19 lockdown, as many as 29 CTEs, 99 CTOs under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and 181 CTOs under Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 have been granted to the green category of industries across the state.
Desperate to beat the looming economic crisis, Punjab has also turned to international investments to bail it out. The state government is already engaged in talks with the Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese embassies in India in a bid for investments.
“We are working on war footing to strengthen the industrial base of the state which has been rattled by the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. One of the topmost priorities in bail strategy is getting maximum foreign investment and we are already in touch with prospective investor countries and hope materialization of our plans”, said Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. He further added that out of 2.5 lakh registered industries, around 1.5 lakh had already resumed operation and many many migrants who had registered to leave the state have stayed back and returned to their jobs.
