Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 13

In a decision intended to facilitate industrial development in the state, the Punjab government has dropped the provision of getting Change of Land Use (CLU) permission for setting up standalone green, orange and red category industries in permissible zones.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said that earlier the industrialists were required to obtain the CLU from the department and then to get the building plans approved.

The process was cumbersome and time-consuming. Exemption from obtaining CLU would encourage setting up of industries. Now the industrialists could directly get their building plans approved from the department, said the minister.

However, the approval of building plans would be subject to fulfilment of the guidelines for industries and building by-laws of the department, which the applicants would have to abide by, Sarkaria said.

Various industrial associations for long were demanding ease-out of the process of setting up industries and single-step clearance. These associations were of the view that there are many entrepreneurs inclined to establish industries in the state but lengthy procedures for getting the approvals were discouraging them.