Setting up industries more easier on Bihar land

By Realty Quarter Bureau

The amendment Bill seeks to mandate the BIADA to purchase non-agricultural land and hand it over to industrialists after developing infrastructure facilities on it.

Land procurement for setting up industrial unit in Bihar is set to be easier once the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (amendment) Bill, passed by the state legislature comes into effect.

BIADA was earlier not directly involved in land procurement as per the BIADA Act of 1974, but the amendment Bill seeks to mandate the BIADA to purchase non-agricultural land and hand it over to industrialists after developing infrastructure facilities on it.

State industries minister Jai Kumar Singh on Thursday said land would be provided to industrialists at the same rate at which it would be bought by BIADA. Only service charge will be taken in addition to the land price. “The popular impression that Bihar does not have adequate land for industrial purposes is wrong,” the minister said.

BIADA targets to procure 3,000 acres of land in the financial year 2017-18, the minister said and added it would, to start with, focus on the areas where food processing units could come up.

The new Bill also empowers BIADA to take back its land in case industries do not come up on it. “At least 1,050 acres of land, allotted for industrial units, have been lying vacant for long,” an official said.

Now on, the industrialist will have to open the industrial unit on the BIADA-provided land within three years of the allotment. In case of failure, the land will have to be transferred to another industrialist or surrendered.

“In case the owner continues to hold the land, s/he will be treated as an encroacher and will have to pay Rs 5 lakh or 300% of the cost of encroachment removal, whichever is higher, along with Rs 5,000/day for squatting on the land,” the official said.

There are also cases of certain industrialists using only a small part of the land provided by BIADA. “The unused land now on will be handed over to other aspirants,” said the official.

As per the new provisions, the minister said, an Industrial Area Managing Committee (IAMC) will also be formed. It will comprise of industrialists and will have a representative of the industries department as the area manager.

Though infrastructure facilities like road, water and drainage in the industrial area will be provided by the department, their maintenance will be overseen by the IAMC.

Hailing the new industrial policy of the state government, Singh said the department received 604 applications from January onwards. At least 539 of them have been approved. Of those approved, 55 have got Rs 954 crore sanctioned as loan from banks.