Industry push in deep freeze
2 min readPatna: The much-awaited Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority or Biada (Amendment) Act 2017, which received the Presidential assent on May 17 and was notified by the state government in its gazette on June 3, is going to be in limbo for many more months to come as its rules are yet to be tabled in the state legislature.
With the monsoon session kicking off on Friday and the rules yet to be presented before the state cabinet for its approval, it is likely to miss the bus and may have to wait till December, when the winter session of the legislature convenes. As rules are necessary to implement the Act, various proposals will also have to wait to see the light of the day.
Asked about the delay in framing of rules, industries minister Jai Kumar Singh told The Telegraph: “It takes time to formulate rules. We notified the Biada (Amendment) Act last month after it got the Presidential assent. Though the Act is a very clear one, we are in the process of framing the rules for it and expect to complete it by October.”
Singh, under whose department Biada falls, said he had pushed for amendment into the Act after noticing various shortcomings in its original version. He added that the rules will be tabled in the winter session of the legislature.
Though Biada managing director (MD) R.S. Srivastav evaded the issue by saying that rule making was not within the jurisdiction of the authority, sources said the delay will throw a spanner in various plans mooted by it, including the one to buy land for industrial use or setting-up industrial parks.
The delay will throw a spanner in various plans of Biada, including the one to buy land for industrial purposes.
“There was a proposal to bring an exit policy for those who have taken Biada land on lease, but are not using it for industrial purposes. Besides, as per the amended Act, Biada was to bring its own development control regulation to decide about ‘floor space index’ (FSI), how much set-back should be left around constructions in its area, among other things,” a senior Biada official said.
The official also added that as per the amended Act, the MD was to get the powers to remove encroachment from its land, instead of going to other executive agencies, but with rules yet to be framed, this will also be stuck.
With the help of BIADA (Amendment) Act, 50 industrial areas, each of at least 25 acres, were to be developed in the state in the coming months, to make it viable. Biada, at present, has a total land bank of 5400 acres of which 2500 acres is locked in litigation.
Courtesy: The Telegraph
