“Chaotic” and “mismanaged” is how most industrialists described their meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) auditorium in Udyog Vihar here on Monday.
On the third day of his visit to Gurugram, Mr. Khattar held a meeting with industrialists from different parts of the city such as Manesar, Udyog Vihar and Old Gurugram, but much to their disappointment, only 10-odd agenda points of the total 46 could be discussed during the over an hour-long meeting.
‘Dissatisfied’ honchos
Manesar Industries Welfare Association (MIWA) vice-president Manmohan Gaind said that he was “absolutely dissatisfied” with the meeting and the Chief Minister should have come with enough time at his disposal since the agenda was provided to him beforehand.
“Most of the points taken up in the meeting were related to the Udyog Vihar area as its representation was on the top. The Chief Minister’s attitude was good. He was talking about ease of doing business and facilitation of industry. But it was quite a chaotic meeting, not very well organised. Flow of fruitful discussion was missing,” said Mr. Gaind.
The industrialists complained that more than 400 entrepreneurs were present in the meeting and most of the times they ended up speaking simultaneously and nothing could be heard in the ensuing commotion.
Pending issues
“It would be better if the Chief Minister conducts separate meetings for different associations,” suggested a senior Gurgaon Industrial Association office-bearer, not willing to be named. He, however, said that most of the concerns of GIA on traffic management in Old City were addressed by the Deputy Commissioner at the beginning of the meeting.
MIWA general-secretary Suman Chawla said the association had two major issues on its agenda -- 20% rebate to those who had set up their factories within the stipulated time and interest waiver for those industrialists who had failed to pay enhancement on their plots. None of the issues could be taken up in the meeting. “Besides, there were a host of issues related to metro expansion, poor connectivity, removal of toll plaza and lack of security in the area. Industrial Model Township, Manesar, is a modern industrial area, but no CCTV cameras are installed there. Street light project is hanging fire and incidents of eve-teasing are on the rise,” she rued.
Sources present in the meeting recounted how a scene was created when Gurugram MLA Umesh Aggarwal contradicted Mr. Khattar on withdrawal of loan facility to industrialists. “As of now, industrialists are allowed to avail loan from the bank after payment of 30-40% of the cost of their industrial plot. But Mr. Khattar said that the government wanted to withdraw this facility since the HSIIDC stood to suffer in case the owner defaulted on loan payment. Mr. Aggarwal opposed the CM in front of the gathering creating a scene,” said Ms. Chawla.
