HimVani
Shimla: State chapter of CII has recommended that state government should pursue the case of “Capital Investment-Subsidy” with the central government on the lines of J & K and North-Eastern states to encourage more investments after the expiry of the incentive package. Emphasizing on infrastructure and skill development for Himachal in its pre-budget recommendations, Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) state chapter submitted memorandum to state Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal here today.
After submitting CII’s Pre-Budget Memorandum 2010-11 to the State Government in Shimla here today, Vice Chairman, CII Himachal Pradesh State Council Rajiv Malhotra said in a media statement, “The upcoming budget of Himachal Pradesh should impart an impetus for growth through a reforms-based agenda. At the same time, it needs to reflect the new set of priorities. A comprehensive and composite plan needs to be made that addresses economic issues with the active participation of all the stakeholders. Special focus should be on infrastructure development, which is hampering the growth of industry in the State. There is an immediate need to prepare a concrete action plan to bridge the skill gap prevalent in Himachali youth. An enabling environment for private sector growth needs to be created.”
He also added that on the issue of Infrastructure development, special attention is required in terms of improving and extending road and rail connectivity in order to attract more investments, reducing the transportation cost and facilitate inter-state trade. Similarly, for tourism sector, CII has recommended that there should be a quantum leap in the budgetary allocation to develop adequate infrastructure keeping in mind the huge inflow of foreign tourists. Destination development, automated parking lots, and preparation of a long term vision for tourism department were some of the recommendations made by CII in order to harness the unlimited tourism potential of the small hill State.
CII has also requested the state government to abolish the rent sharing policy and in case it is of any significance, the processing charges for the same should be against actual which at present are a much higher side. CII is confident that if the fundamental developmental issues outlined in this memorandum were addressed, Himachal Pradesh will emerge as a role model for other States of the country.
