*Only one company allotted land, no work started
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 5: The ambitious policy rolled out by the Government in 2022 to attract foreign investment in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has failed to make any substantial impact in the Jammu region, with almost negligible response from investors and no tangible progress on the ground. So far, only one company has been allotted land but it too has failed to start work.
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As per the Administrative Council Decision No.29/2/2022 dated February 23, 2022, the Industries and Commerce Department vide Order No.33-JK(IND) dated March 3, 2022 accorded sanction to the rolling out of Policy for Promotion of Foreign Investment in Industrial Sector in Jammu and Kashmir subject to certain conditions.
The intent behind the policy was to showcase Jammu and Kashmir as an investment-friendly destination for foreign investors and to complement the efforts to accelerate industrialization in the Union Territory through their participation.
However, despite wide publicity and repeated assurances of conducive business environment, not a single major foreign investment has materialized in Jammu region under the Policy for Promotion of Foreign Investment announced with much fanfare in 2022, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
“Only one company-M/s Magna Waves Buildtech Pvt Ltd was allotted 24 kanals of prime land at the Exhibition Ground, Jammu for establishing a business venture under the policy. However, even after the lapse of considerable time, the company has not initiated any construction or developmental activity at the site, leaving the land lying idle and the objectives of the policy unfulfilled”, they informed.
Around 48 kanals of land at the Exhibition Ground, Jammu, has been declared as an Industrial Estate for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). However, neither the company that was allotted a portion of this land has come forward to start work on the ground, nor has any other entity shown interest in taking up the remaining land, sources disclosed.
Under the 2022 policy, the Government had promised to create a facilitative framework and ensure transparency in approvals and land allotments. “However, ground realities paint a dismal picture-particularly in the Jammu region, where no notable foreign investor has shown commitment to start operations,” sources said, while stressing that the Government should ascertain the reasons behind the poor response from foreign investors and take necessary corrective measures so that the objectives of the policy can be achieved in the coming years.
Even in the policy document and the Government order of March 2022, it has been mentioned that policy will remain in operation for 10 years from the date of its adoption and policy shall be revised from time to time based on a critical assessment of feedback from stakeholders and change in the scope.
“The situation in contrasts sharply with the expectations created when the policy was launched. The Government had projected the foreign investment initiative as a cornerstone of post-2020 economic transformation in the UT, with assurances that region would witness significant industrial and service sector growth”, sources said.
However, even after the lapse of over three years, the on-ground outcome remains negligible, raising serious questions about the efficacy of the policy framework and the sincerity of its implementation, they said, adding “Jammu has immense potential for logistics, healthcare and tourism-related investments, but unless the system becomes result-oriented and proactive, such policies will remain confined to files”.
Further, the Government should identify land parcels in other parts of Jammu for development of Industrial Estates for exclusive grounding of foreign investments. This should include vertical rise premises in the form of multipurpose buildings/complexes with plug and play facilities.
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