Karnataka mulls exemption from statutory nods for industries

BENGALURU: Five weeks after clearing the decks for industries to directly purchase land from farmers, the Karnataka government is now set to exempt the industries from statutory permissions for the first three years so that their projects get off the ground at the earliest.
Chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar has told industry representatives and government officials on the special taskforce created to woo investors, especially those exiting from China, that the government is working on the reform on exemptions from statutory permissions. These permissions include approvals from the pollution control board and building-plan sanctions.

Industry proposals have to obtain approval from several departments which take months. A senior official said the proposal is to allow industries to self-certify and proceed with project implementation. Industries minister Jagadish Shettar confirmed to TOI that his department has had discussions with the chief secretary about amending the Karnataka Industrial Facilitation Act, 2002, to give it legal sanctity. “In the current system, many of these approvals delay economic activity,” he said.
On April 27, the government formalized amending Land Reforms Act, 1961, to allow industries to purchase land directly from farmers.
Industries don’t need approvals for 3 years
Now, as per the Karnataka Industrial Facilitation Act, a variety of clearances, no-objection certificates, allotment consents, registration and licences are required before a project can get going.
“Consent for establishment, pollution control board clearance, other approvals under the Factories Act and so on will not be required before commencing the project implementation. They can give an affidavit that they are complying with all these norms and start work. This will save time. Approvals will be necessary only at the time of commencing production,” an industries department official said. When the proposal comes through, Shettar said, industries will be exempted from getting these approvals for three years. “Projects cleared by the single-window committee can purchase land and go ahead,” he said.
CR Janardhan, president, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industries, said: “Just getting building approvals would take six months, without which no work could start. This is welcome move.”