Despite being a big industrial hub, the infrastructure for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Punjab is yet to be improved, complained the local entrepreneurs.

The MSMEs in Ludhiana cried that even though the government is charging them high Change of Land Use (CLU) and External Development Charges (EDC) for building roads and infrastructure in the industrial areas, its ultimately them who have to get it done.

President of Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (CICU), Jatinder Pal Singh, said that there is no infrastructure from roads to sewer here for the industry.

“The development work is yet to be done. Lack of facilities from the government for the MSMEs impacts the businesses,” he added.

Many Industries are about to close, Singh cried stating, “We are not getting benefits after paying the CLU and EDC.”

Singh said that after receiving no assistance from the government for ads and infrastructure, the industry itself gets it’s done and spends money from their own pockets.

Punjab government had announced a compounding policy to regularize buildings constructed without approval of concerned authorities outside the municipal limits of towns/cities.

Sharing the similar views, General Secretary of Ludhiana Foundry Clusters, Sanjay Viman, said that due to scarcity of lands in the town for setting up units, the industrialists are given lands in the outskirts where the roads and other facilities are not there.

“We are charged Rs 5.5 lakh per acre as CLU/ EDC for development of roads and infrastructure. But, despite paying such heavy costs, we ourselves have to build the roads and infrastructure,” Viman said.

“The situation is so bad and the cost of operating is so high that most of the steel units in Mandi Gobind Garh in Punjab are shutting down,” he said adding that “We protest, we reach out to them but nothing helps.”

Source: MENAFN.COM