JAIPUR: As the state budget is set to be presented in the Assembly, some issues that industrialists confront and find remaining unresolved keep coming up in their budget recommendations to the state government.
Getting land conversion done remains one of the biggest worries of the industry in Rajasthan. “By the time one gets the land conversion approval, the viability of the project is gone. It takes years. Earlier, industrialists preferred to have their factory or unit in Rajasthan as they live here. Now many are looking for other states,” said an industrialist, preferring anonymity.
Another is vexing issue is payment disputes that hold back the receivables of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) from government departments and agencies. Even though the state government increased the number of MSME facilitation councils from one to nine, there are still over 2000 cases. “The councils’ meetings are not held frequently. Even if they are held, they fail to find a resolution. It locks working capital of MSMEs and deprives the entities of growth,” said another industrialist.
Companies that get turnkey projects from the state government do not source equipment and other material from companies based in Rajasthan. MSME manufacturers in the state said they are not able to supply for government projects because firms implementing the turnkey projects sources the material from other states.
A routine budget feedback from the industry to the state government seeks that it should be made mandatory for vendors to follow the principle of Purchase Preference Policy of Rajasthan or buy 50% of their equipment and machinery from MSMEs in the state.
In budget recommendations in recent years, amnesty scheme for labour cess remains a constant. Many companies in the past did not pay the cess till the government enforced the Act in 2015. Since the mechanism was not there for payment of the cess despite the Act having been passed in 2009, the industry has been demanding an amnesty scheme for waiving off interest and penalty. But this has also been pending.
Another recurring refrain in the industry’s demands is reduction of high land prices for industrial units. While land cost used to be around 10-15% of the total project cost, it has now gone up to 50%, making ventures non-viable. The industry says RIICO’s land prices are high in comparison to that in other states. But the government is yet to act upon it.
The demand for reduction of high power tariff is also a constant in the budget recommendations of most industry bodies.
Getting land conversion done remains one of the biggest worries of the industry in Rajasthan. “By the time one gets the land conversion approval, the viability of the project is gone. It takes years. Earlier, industrialists preferred to have their factory or unit in Rajasthan as they live here. Now many are looking for other states,” said an industrialist, preferring anonymity.
Another is vexing issue is payment disputes that hold back the receivables of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) from government departments and agencies. Even though the state government increased the number of MSME facilitation councils from one to nine, there are still over 2000 cases. “The councils’ meetings are not held frequently. Even if they are held, they fail to find a resolution. It locks working capital of MSMEs and deprives the entities of growth,” said another industrialist.
Companies that get turnkey projects from the state government do not source equipment and other material from companies based in Rajasthan. MSME manufacturers in the state said they are not able to supply for government projects because firms implementing the turnkey projects sources the material from other states.
A routine budget feedback from the industry to the state government seeks that it should be made mandatory for vendors to follow the principle of Purchase Preference Policy of Rajasthan or buy 50% of their equipment and machinery from MSMEs in the state.
In budget recommendations in recent years, amnesty scheme for labour cess remains a constant. Many companies in the past did not pay the cess till the government enforced the Act in 2015. Since the mechanism was not there for payment of the cess despite the Act having been passed in 2009, the industry has been demanding an amnesty scheme for waiving off interest and penalty. But this has also been pending.
Another recurring refrain in the industry’s demands is reduction of high land prices for industrial units. While land cost used to be around 10-15% of the total project cost, it has now gone up to 50%, making ventures non-viable. The industry says RIICO’s land prices are high in comparison to that in other states. But the government is yet to act upon it.
The demand for reduction of high power tariff is also a constant in the budget recommendations of most industry bodies.
