District Collector N. Yuvaraj on Thursday said Visakhapatnam would get five tmc feet water from Polavaram Left Main Canal by December, 2017.
Participating in a discussion on how to ensure ease of doing business at a programme organised by ASSOCHAM, AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation and Industries Department, he said they had drawn a long-term plan to meet water requirement of the industries and domestic consumers.
He said now work had to be taken up on a priority to create storage for five tmc and mentioned that Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, which faced a severe water crisis sometime ago, had been asked to take up work on the second reservoir.
Responding to the suggestions on removing bottlenecks to facilitate ease of doing business, he said they would be setting up a committee with the district administration and representatives from the industries to address concern over industrial pollution, safety and labour problems.
Stating that self-certification could not be allowed in all the cases, he cited how failure to observe precautions had caused certain industrial accidents in the district. He said the provision to inspect facilities should not be misunderstood as harassment or interference.
Financial capital
Anakapalle MP Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao said Visakhapatnam would continue to be the financial capital of Navya Andhra Pradesh despite emergence of Vijayawada as the political capital of Navya Andhra Pradesh.
He said due to second largest coastline after Gujarat, the new State had a lot of scope for port-led development and seafood business. He said the need of hour was to ensure continuity of key decisions irrespective of change in government.
Several speakers, including APCCIF Executive Director P. Bhaskar Rao, called for zero interference and zero paper work by ensuring use of technology and reducing multiplicity of inspecting/licensing departments and agencies. He wanted allotment of unique identification numbers to businessmen on the lines of Aadhaar.
ASSOCHAM National Council for Ease of Doing Business chairman Arun Kumar Jagatramka said businessmen should be treated like VVIPs and red-tapism in clearances and procedural wrangling should be removed to facilitate ease of doing business.
Presiding over the meeting APCCIF State vice-president G. Sambasiva Rao said doing business was not as rosy as it was painted to be and called for steps to widen the tax net and focus on finding out solutions to provide investment-friendly climate.
Principal Customs Commissioner C. Rajendiran, Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes K. Nagendra, APCCIF director O. Naresh Kumar, Phoenix Group Director Srikanth Badiga and Dozco (India) Director R. Bangur spoke.
