Pathankot Industrial Growth Centre a misnomer
Conceived in 1995, it has only two units against the capacity of 254 units
Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Pathankot, December 1
Lack of political will, besides better options in other states, has rendered the Pathankot Industrial Growth Centre a misnomer.
The project, conceived about 19 years ago, has failed to take wings.
Despite having more than 400 acres of land in its possession, the centre boasts of just two industrial units against the capacity of 254 units as was once envisaged by the state Industries Department. The rest of the sprawling land is being used by stray cattle while some temporary constructions have also come up, turning the area into an eyesore.
One of the two industries that have come up here manufactures wine and edible oil. The second business house is a subsidiary of the first unit.
When the idea was first conceived, big corporate houses such as the Birlas and Wadias had shown keen interest. The Birlas wanted to establish a paper manufacturing unit while the Wadias were interested in setting up a couple of textile units.
The idea to develop the centre as a full-fledged industrial area was conceived way in 1995 when the then local MLA and Industries Minister Raman Bhalla managed to convince then Chief Minister Beant Singh to establish it for the overall development of the area.
The then Gurdaspur MP, Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder, was also actively involved in the project and she managed to pull strings during her tenure as a Union minister in the corridors of power in Delhi to get necessary sanctions from various departments.
However, things fell flat after Raman Bhalla lost the Assembly elections in 1997. Sources reveal that succeeding ministers failed to take care of the project. Moreover, during the same time, neighbouring states such as Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh started giving tax concessions, which weaned away existing industrial units from the area.
“We had high hopes from Rajya Sabha MP and former Minister of State for Planning, Science and Technology Ashwani Kumar, who hails from Gurdaspur. He promised to turn the area into a food processing zone by nurturing fruit-related industries. However, he failed to deliver it,” said an industrialist.
The Department of Industries, in the meantime, continued its efforts to develop the area by constructing roads and putting up streetlights. “All its efforts came to a zilch as the neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir started offering juicy tax holidays which prompted industrialists to invest money there,” said Kartik Wadhera.
Businessmen, who had purchased plots, are now sceptical. An industrialist said, “I have put on hold all my plans of setting up a plant here because of the high rates of electricity and also the fact that the neighbouring states are offering tax holidays.”
