Mangaluru: Energy Minister Sunil Kumar invited leaders of industry to the state capital for a meeting with high-ranking officials of all the departments to enable a quick fix to the critical and pressing issues of the industry that is hampering growth in the region. In an interactive meeting, Sunil Kumar who is also the District Minister for Dakshina Kannada District remarked that problems will remain on the backburner unless time-bound solutions are found and he believes proactive action is being taken by the government.
Responding to the issues of the Baikampady industrial area wherein flooding during the monsoon has been causing crores of rupees in losses to raw material and finished goods due to poor culvert and drain maintenance he informed that he would take up these issues immediately with the district administration and enable relief to the industries.
Earlier industry body Kanara Industries Association has put forth a number of vexing issues on infrastructure, Policy and Industrial Development of the District namely relaying of water lines at Baikampady Industrial which are over 50 years old. Setting up of a Common Effluent Treatment Plant and Sewage Treatment Plant at Baikampady, Underground Power lines and a 24×7 Centralized MESCOM Service station.
The Minister said that he would advise the District Administration to solve the issues that can be addressed locally. For all other issues that need the State Government’s intervention, he invited industry leaders to Bangalore for an across-the-table meeting where he assured that all the officials would be present under a single window and necessary solutions would be found.
On matters of Property tax, the industry leaders informed the Minister that the SWM Cess is way too high for industrial Plots in Mangalore City Corporation. They remarked that the SWM Cess is 3 times higher in Mangalore than in other similar cities like Mysore and Hubli.
The Minister said that Industrialists are builders of the nation and they should be provided with a level playing field to compete. He also assured to look into the matter of the exorbitant fixed charges on LT Power that MESCOM has started to levy after LT was enhanced to 200 HP from 66 HP. The benefit should not be given to industries from one side and taken away from the other side, he remarked. The Minister also informed that there is no space left at the Power substation at Baikampady and since the huge power requirement is for Port-Based activities of NMPT he would work with the Port Authority to make available land for the installation of an additional substation to augment the growing power demand in the area. He advised the MESCOM officials to take this up immediately with the port authorities.
Industry leaders demanded that 30% of the Property tax paid by industries in industrial areas should flow back to the same areas for development and maintenance the minister remarked that he will take this up with officials and invited leaders to take part in the deliberations of a stakeholders meeting which he said he would arrange shortly. The public expenditure and policy changes in the right direction will promote growth, and employment and immensely benefit the economy and he would take proactive action to enable this, he concluded.
Kanara Industries Association President Isaac Vas, V. President Ananthesh Prabhu, Hon. Secretary Athmika Amin and Treasurer Suresh Karkera were part of the interactive meeting along with heads of Industries in the region.
