A slowly increasing trend of misuse of industrial plots at the Kochuveli and Manvila industrial development areas has prompted the District Industries Centre (DIC) to step in and sound a warning that plots thus misused would be reclaimed and handed over to entrepreneurs on the lookout for land to set up their ventures.
According to officials, some of the entrepreneurs who had been allotted plots at Kochuveli and Manvila, were entering into partnerships with others, which should actually be done with the concurrence of the DIC. These included some, who wanted to close shop due to losses, and were reportedly entering into such partnerships in order to gradually exit from the venture. While details about any financial transactions are not clear, officials said this was an increasing trend and with industrial land being a scarcity in the State capital, some were finding this to be a more profitable option than continuing with loss-making ventures.
As per rules, entrepreneurs who get land allotted in industrial development areas have to set up their units within six months. So far, the six-month deadline was not strictly adhered to, with the ventures being given up to a year to get going. Now, with the illegal deals coming to light, the DIC has decided to stick to the six-month deadline and also to reclaim the plots from those who were not utilising them properly.
At Kochuveli, 88.28 acres of the total 108.63 acres was allotted to 198 units, with the rest of the land being used for infrastructure including roads. Of these, 155 are operational while 19 are dormant. At Manvila, out of the total available area of 27.53 acres, 22.68 acres was allotted to 41 units, out of which four are dormant. According to R. Ramesh Chandran, General Manager, DIC, the setups in the two areas had been asked to inform the DIC of any proposed partnerships or intentions to move out, and if there were new partnerships, to submit project reports apart from stating why the existing venture was not viable. The process of identifying illegal partnerships and dormant setups apart from steps to curb misuse of industrial land would be intensified with such plots to be reclaimed immediately and handed over to waiting entrepreneurs.
