The Goan Network
PANAJI
Lack of land in the State has emerged as the single most important concern for industries, which actually thwarts their plans. A number of industries from Goa have already chosen to go out of State for their expansion plans.
It must be noted that Goa fared poorly on ‘availability of land’ criteria in the recent ‘Ease of Doing Business Reforms Ranking’ conducted by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the central government alongwith the World Bank.
Take the case of Powerland Agro Tractor Vehicles, which has an assembling plant at Verna Industrial Estate, but has chosen to set up a manufacturing plant in Kudal in Maharashtra.
Not only is it tough to find industrial land in Goa for big projects, but the available land is also very expensive. Narayan P Naik, director of Powerland Agro Tractor Vehicles, said, “Industrial land is available in Maharashtra for Rs 250 per square meter, while it would cost you Rs 2,200 per square meter at a prominent industrial area in Goa.”
Outside industrial estates, there are very few industrial plots in Goa. And, inside industrial estates, it is very tough to get land. A source further informed that very few plots in Goa outside industrial estates are marked industrial as per both the regional plans.
Therefore, a conversion would be required, if you want to set up an industry outside industrial estates, which is a lengthy and complicated process. Besides, the fact that 35.56 lakh square meters of land is stuck in Goa due to special economic zone (SEZ) related litigation further complicates the problem for the government.
Another source informed that the government of Maharashtra has waived stamp duty if you are buying land for industrial purpose. Meanwhile, industrialists also complain that some government departments are following age-old rules in Goa, which are not in sync with modern day reality at all.
Blaise Costabir, managing director, GMI Zarhak Moulders opined that the process of obtaining licences is lengthy and interlinked. Many of the procedures are mere paperwork and the rules laid decades ago are being followed blindly, even when the situation in the modern times has changed drastically.
“The labour department insists on getting the handwritten names as computer printouts are not accepted. Submitting printouts saves lot of time,” said Costabir.
In some cases, the government has indeed tried to simplify the entire approval process. Manguirish Salelkar, CEO and co-founder, Omang Software, said, “All you need to do for a software start-up is to register with department of information & technology (DoIT). You don’t even need a trade license from municipal authority.”
But, there are glitches here too, as Salelkar continued, “I am sure that even officers in municipalities don’t know about the 2011 amendment in trade licence Act, which says it is not mandatory for software companies to get a trade licence.”
