Promoting Small Scale Industries is one of the ways of overcoming the problem of unemployment. It strengthens economy and does not incur huge investments. But many of them have become sick for various reasons. Entrepreneurs become helpless in most cases to revive their enterprises. Therefore State Level Rehabilitation Committee has been constituted to examine the status of the sick units, consider their viability if revived and also propose the quantum of financial support needed to revive them. Obviously, in doing so, the Committee should have laid down some criterion as the deciding factor whether the sick unit will become viable if given support, and how much financial support would it need for revival etc. We understand that guidelines must be there and the Committee must be going according to the same.
However, we are amused to learn that among the total 457 sick units–368 in Kashmir valley and 89 in Jammu province, 67 units were approved by the State Level Rehabilitation Committee during the past two years for revival by providing soft loan. Of these 67 units, 59 are in Kashmir valley and 8 in Jammu province. The general impression is that the environs for development of small scale industries in Jammu region are more conducive, and actually their number is fairly large. Although eruption of militancy and its sway over the region in Jammu has not been that widespread as in the valley, and that cannot be the reason for the sickness of industrial units in Jammu, yet only 33.55 per cent units became sick owing to law and order problem. Reasons other than this for the sickness of these unties apply equally to both the regions. As such, there should not have been a vast difference in numbers of sick units identified for financial support. This gives the cause for a grouse and Jammu small scale industrial units’ entrepreneurs have not taken the decision of the SLRC in good taste. The share of the valley-based industrial units for financial support is nearly 90 per cent and Jammu region gets mere 10 per cent.
Another interesting data obtained from the analysis is that while the SLRC has brought seven districts of the valley, besides Srinagar district, under is purview, in the case of Jammu region only Jammu district has been taken into account. Only eight sick units of Jammu district have been selected for revival while as none of the sick units of other districts was selected by the SLRC. There are 18 sick units in Udhampur, seven in Samba, six in Poonch, five in Doda and two each in Kathua and Rajouri districts. This seems utterly unfair on the part of SLRC, particularly when we know that some of the districts in Jammu region have been recognized as backward. Priority should have been given to the backward districts especially when we know that the youth of these districts have little chances of employment and growth.
In an overall evaluation, we strongly endorse the efforts of the Government to encourage spreading out a wide network of small scale industries in the State. Fortunately, the Central Government is also favourably disposed towards the policy of expansion of these units. We would even recommend that in second installments many more sick unites should be brought under the scheme of financial support for revival and the process should continue. The target of Rs 5440 crore for the SSI with employment potential for 38,870 persons is enviable one. The roadmap is already there. 55 large and medium units with an investment of Rs 2400 crore providing employment to 18000 persons have been set up till date while as 23 units with an investment of Rs 1021 crore and employment potential for about 3200 persons are under implementation. This augurs well for the economic health of the State. But, once again, we would impress upon the State Level Rehabilitation Committee that it will have to stick to just and equitable distribution of its support to all the three regions of the State. We do recognize various factors that will determine the identification of the sick units. But this identification has to be broad -based and pragmatically planned. Why should Ladakh be excluded from the jurisdiction of the SLRC.
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