Imran Deshbhakta
ROORKEE: The Roorkee Small Scale Industrial Association (RSSIA) organised its semi-annual industry review and interaction meeting to discuss the key challenges being faced by industrial units and explore possible solutions in coordination with senior officials from various government departments.
The programme, conducted by Ketan Bhardwaj, was attended by Roorkee Joint Magistrate Deepak Ramchandra Shet, IAS, as the chief guest. Addressing the gathering, Shet appreciated the resilience of micro and small-scale entrepreneurs who continue to operate and expand their businesses despite challenging circumstances. He said their contribution was important not only to the state’s economy but also to the overall development of the country.
Shet assured the entrepreneurs of necessary administrative support in resolving their issues and appreciated the association’s initiative of regularly organising such interactions between industry and government departments.
Uttam Kumar Tiwari, general manager, District Industries Centre, Haridwar, briefed the participants about various schemes being implemented by the Uttarakhand Industries Department. Entrepreneurs raised concerns over delays in the release of subsidies under different government schemes and urged the department to expedite the disbursement of pending subsidy amounts.
Labour-related issues also figured prominently during the meeting. Kamal Joshi, deputy labour commissioner, Haridwar, was apprised of concerns regarding notices being issued to industrial units in connection with outstanding labour cess dating back nearly two decades.
Entrepreneurs said it was extremely difficult for industrial units to produce documents dating back 20 years. They pointed out that several industrial properties had changed hands two or three times since 2005, making it particularly difficult for present owners to arrange records pertaining to earlier periods. The industry representatives requested the Labour Department to hold a detailed consultation with industrial associations and formulate a practical framework before proceeding further in such cases.
Fire safety compliance was another major concern raised by the industry. Vansh Narayan Yadav, in-charge of the Fire Department, Roorkee, explained the process related to issuance of no-objection certificates (NOCs) to industrial units. Entrepreneurs, however, highlighted delays and procedural difficulties in obtaining fire NOCs and sought simplification and faster disposal of applications.
Officials from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), including Sunil Babbar, enforcement officer, Roorkee, and Rajesh Kumar, enforcement officer, Bhagwanpur, briefed entrepreneurs about various provisions and schemes of the organisation. They also urged industrial units to ensure wider coverage of workers under EPFO schemes.
Rajendra Negi, social security officer, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Roorkee, explained various social security schemes and the benefits available to insured workers. He informed the gathering that a 300-bed ESIC hospital coming up in SIDCUL, Haridwar, was nearing completion and was expected to become operational by the end of the year. The facility, he said, would provide workers with quicker access to treatment in cases of illness and workplace accidents.
RSSIA president Bharat Bhushan Gupta and secretary Ajay Kumar Garg expressed gratitude to the senior officials and representatives of various industrial organisations from Haridwar district for participating in the meeting and contributing to the discussions.
Representatives of various industrial organisations from across Haridwar district, including Sunil Pandey, Sadhuram Saini, Sukhdev Singh, Parminder Sharma, Arvind Gupta, Manoj Gautam, Puneet Goyal, Anuj Chauhan, Shivam Goyal, Parveen Garg, Prabhat Kumar, Virendra Shukla, Piyush Mandhar and Vipin Sharma, were present.
Representing the association, Rakesh Mittal, AK Ansari, Raj Kumar Sharma, Hari Mohan Kapoor, NP Singh, Rajiv Dhami, Atul Sharma, Sandeep Agarwal, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Abhishek Gupta, Vijay Sharma, Dhananjay Garg, Aditya Tomar, Sunil Sharma, Himanshu Walia, Ashwani Handa, Rahul Prajapati and Arjun Singh were among those who attended the meeting along with a large number of entrepreneurs.