Sandesh Prabhudesai
19 November 1999
The draft industrial policy, prepared by chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, puts up a very confusing picture by adding even non-controversial industries to the red category of banned units while also criticising environmentalists for opposing industries on the grounds of pollution.
He is planning to finalise it within a week while response from the industry is still awaited. A joint working group of the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the Goa Small Industries Association however plans to propose an alternate policy.
Besides categorisation of 236 industries into green, orange and red categories, another highlight of the policy is to withdraw all the incentives granted by the state government, including the 15-year sales tax holiday prevalent in the state since 1972.
It then only leaves the income tax holiday granted by the central government as Goa is being identified as one of the industrially backward area. Any industry, which begins its production by 31 March 2000, could avail the holiday for five years.
"No industry which has come here from 1 October would enjoy the sales tax holiday", clarifies Faleiro. His earlier decision to withdraw 50 per cent of the sales tax exemption on the existing industries however has been kept in abeyance till December.
Fully supporting the proposal of the union finance ministry to put an end to the subsidy raj, Faleiro's draft policy now proposes to restrict its 25 per cent capital investment subsidy up to Rs 25 lakh only to the small industries. But the state still owes over Rs 54 crore towards the subsidy to the old industries.
More than this, his categorisation of several industries into banned red category is likely to raise a row as it not only includes alloy making, metallurgical industry, petro-chemicals and synthetic fibre but also sectors like sugar mills, basic drugs, slaughter houses and stone crushing units.
More surprising than that is the proposal to ban dry coal processing and mineral processing which would directly hit Goa's prime mining industry and also manufacture of alcohol, affecting the liquor industry of the tourist state. Altogether 86 types of industries are included in the red category.
The green category, which would be allowed to be set up automatically as it does not create any kind of pollution, lists out 101 industries. The orange category, consisting of 49 types of industries, would be approved only after having a close look from environmental angle.
"I want to promote only those industries which can be sustained in the ecologically fragile environment and does not affect the tourism industry here", says Faleiro. But he is not averse to the idea of reducing the list of industries from the red category.
While admitting that the high court ban on new power connections has brought state's industrial growth to a grinding halt. But there is no power if a new industry comes to the state even if the court allows to clear pending applications.
While fully depending on private sector for the infrastructural development as the tiny state is facing acute financial crisis, the thrust areas identified in the policy are electronics, pharmaceuticals, pollution control technology, food processing, light engineering, biotechnology and information technology.
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