BENGALURU: After months of lockdown, which affected the manufacturing sector, industries in Karnataka are slowly recuperating. And, in a boost to the sector, in a series of quick approvals of multicrore projects, the State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC), State High-Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC) and Land Approval Committee (LAC) have cleared projects worth Rs 27,107 crore between March and July 2020.
Large and Medium Scale Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said the government’s pro-investment and ease of doing business policies have generated much interest. “Since the amendments to Industries Facilitation Act can be applied in retrograde as well, all 138 projects approved since March can avail benefits under it. Moreover, we have seen a lot of inquiries for large investments and we look forward to clearing more such projects,” he said.
The actual impact of the amendment to the Industries Facilitation Act, which allows industries to start setting up plants for three years without waiting for approvals from various departments, and passed via an ordinance in June, can be assessed only in the next couple of months, sources in the Industries Department said. However, the minister pointed out that there is already a spike in the number of queries by potential investors.
In the 11-month period between April 2019 and February 2020, the SLSWCC had cleared only 118 projects worth Rs 6,557.3 crore with scope to generate 57,622 jobs. No meetings of the State High-Level Clearance Committee were held during the period. However, in five months between March 2020 and July 2020, the SLSWCC, SHLCC and LAC, in three meetings, have approved 138 projects worth Rs 27,107.39 crore with a scope of creating 45,994 jobs as per documents from the Industries Department. The SLSWCC alone has approved 85 projects worth Rs 6,136.97 crores.
“Many states are only talking of signing MoUs on investments during the pandemic, but in Karnataka, projects worth Rs 27,107 crore have already been approved in the lockdown period,” pointed out Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner, Industrial Development and Director of Industries and Commerce. Officials from Karnataka Udyog Mitra added that about 49 more proposals, for investments ranging from Rs 5 crore to Rs 500 crore, are awaiting approval in the next high-level committee meeting.