Portal soon to speed up clearances

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After Kerala slumped in the ranking of ‘Ease of Doing business’ last year to 20 from 18 the previous year, the state government has amended seven Acts and 10 rules and had appointed Kerala state industrial development corporation (KSIDC) to implement the reforms as directed by the department of industrial policy and promotion (DPIP) with World Bank.

Now, decks are cleared for KSIDC to implement the reforms, including self-certification for green industries with an online portal ensuring single window clearance clearances and an online payments portal. The portal will be launched by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan next month.

Normally, for setting up an industry, it requires clearance from 14 to 20 departments, including local self-government, environment, pollution control board, electricity board, among others and the applicant runs from pillar to post for clearances. “Now, once the online system of single window clearance is in place, it would bring in sweeping changes as part of the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in Kerala while ensuring that the industries meet the legal standards,” KSIDC managing director M Beena said.

“The online portal called Kerala single window interface for digital application fast disposal and transparency (K- SWIFT) is ready after successful tests. Training has been given to the core team of officials on the software in all districts, including about 240 officials from various departments at Kochi and 200 officials at Thiruvananthapuram, in addition to hands-on training for 80 members,” she said.

Once the digital system becomes operational, applicants interested to set up an industrial unit in the state need to log on to K-SWIFT portal, where they would be directed for the plan approval to a unique integrated software called Intelligent Building Planning Management Software (IBPMS) for major clearance from the local body concerned.

After that, the applicant will be automatically linked back to K-SWIFT for single window clearance from the over 14 departments concerned. In case of green or nonpolluting industries, they can claim for self-certification and in case of polluting industries, the levels of pollution and standard set by state pollution control board (SPCB) should be complied with, she said.

“Payment, including the registration fee and licence fee, can be paid through the online portal through treasury or banks. If the official concerned fails to respond within the stipulated 30 days for single window clearance, then the application is deemed to be approved and the system will automatically issue the licence to set up the industry,” KSIDC officials said.