Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 25: Notwithstanding Government’s oft repeated statements that industrial promotion is answer to unemployment, the District Industries Centres (DICs) across the State have not been conducting vital industrial surveys in the areas of their respective jurisdictions, which is otherwise imperative for assessing the available potential.
“On one side industrial sector has been declared as main vehicle for generation of employment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir, which is reeling under huge unemployment problem, but on the other side there is no proper planning to tap the available potential”, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
“District Industries Centres (DICs) are required to conduct and update the industrial survey of the districts for assessing the industrial potential including availability of human resources and raw material, marketing avenues and other factors but they have been ignoring this vital exercise and no such comprehensive exercise has been conducted till date”, they said.
Sources further said that this important aspect is being ignored by the DICs despite being aware of the fact that the same is must for preparation of Perspective Plan and Annual Plans at periodical intervals and subsequent contribution is sustaining direct employment to the people of the State.
In response to a question, sources said, “it is only through proper industrial surveys that the Industries and Commerce Department can come to know as to where lies the potential for agro-based, mineral-based and forest produce based industries etc”, adding “in the absence of proper surveys the possibility of potential remaining un-tapped particularly in backward areas cannot be ruled out”.
“No doubt some other departments too have a role to play in tapping the potential particularly for agro-based and mineral-based industries but the same comes only after there is a proper survey at the hands of District Industries Centres”, sources said.
They disclosed that when this was pointed out at the highest forum early this year, the Industries and Commerce Department had stated that necessary instructions would be passed to the DICs but no positive development has taken place till date.
When contacted, Director Industries and Commerce, G A Qureshi said that he has recently passed explicit directions to the General Managers of all the District Industries Centres to furnish detailed information regarding availability of local raw material having potential for industrial use so that establishment of industries in the line activities in such areas can be explored.
“Once the complete information from all the DICs is made available to the Directorate we will prepare Perspective and Annual Plans”, he said.
According to the sources, “the DICs have not been monitoring whether the industrial units are meeting the objective of employment generation as laid down in the guidelines”, adding “the employment generated data is accepted as claimed by the industrial units without any fool proof mechanism for verification. There is no mechanism in place to monitor the turnover, value of output, profitability, extent and quality of employment generation”.
They said that Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah and Industries and Commerce Minister, Sajjad Kitchloo, who are very keen to ensure promotion of industrial sector in the State, should intervene and pass clear directions to the General Managers of the District Industries Centres across the State to conduct much needed industrial surveys in their respective areas so that the potential wherever available could be tapped and new industries are established, which in turn would make available direct employment to the people of the State.
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