SIPB reviews status of Mega Projects in AP

Hyderabad, June 22 (INN): To give a thrust to investments in the state, the Government of Andhra Pradesh is looking at digitizing all industries sector-wise.

At a review meeting on State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) at Secretariat today, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu asked the Industries Department to give a monthly update on the status of new projects in the state.

The SIPB will meet once every month to review the progress of pending applications, challenges, grounding of projects and status of projects discussed during the Chief Minister's tours (national and foreign). 'The Economic Development Board can prepare feasibility reports of projects,' the Chief Minister said.

Reviewing Mega Projects in the State, the Chief Minister was informed that seven mega projects worth total investments of Rs. 2,003 crore will provide 35,700 jobs in the state. The seven mega projects are Mohan Spintex (textile project), Indian Designs (textile & garmenting project), Divis Laboratories (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients project in Kakinada), Vayhan Coffee (Premium instant coffee plant), Jain Irrigation (Mega Food Park), Greentech Industries (auto-components unit) and NHK Springs India (ancillary auto-components unit of iSuzu Motors India).

On Jain Irrigation Food Park in Kurnool, the Chief Minister said that Ambuja Food Park and Jain Irrigation one can be earmarked in one single territory and be declared as Mega Food Park. 'This should be the anchor for the district's agro-processing industry. These companies can later bring other food parks too,' he added.

Elaborating on the performance of the Single-desk Clearance after it became operational on May 2, 2015, the Chief Minister was informed they have cleared 216 applications of the total 417. Of the total applications, 148 are pending while the remaining are beyond the purview of Single-desk.

'Those applications which have not been cleared will be given deemed approvals from next month. Also, the concerned officer who has delayed the process will asked to give an explanation on why there has been a delay,' the Chief Minister said, adding this will keep officials on toes without delaying the process.

On the Ease of Doing Business, the Chief Minister was informed that Andhra Pradesh Department of Industry Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has given 285 indicators for states to rank themselves. 'We are complying with 190 indicators while 50 do not apply to the state. This puts Andhra Pradesh's Ease of Doing Business at around 70%,' an official informed the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also enquired about applications/projects on hold because of court litigations. He directed officials to write to the Centre requesting for the setting up of a 'Commercial Desk' in High Court. 'Once we have all the clearances, if there are any pending cases in the Court, we can approach them and ask them to dispose the case,' the Chief Minister said.

The Single-Desk Portal which grants clearances to projects is being linked to CM CORE Dashboard where the Chief Minister can monitor the status of clearances in real-time.

Further, the Chief Minister said that even district projects should be integrated into the SIPB where district collectors too grant clearances without any hassles for investors.

For clearances pending with the Government of India, the Chief Minister asked the SIPB to appoint a Group-I officer in New Delhi who will follow-up with the Centre and update the SIPB about it.

Andhra Pradesh should be the best state in the 'ease of doing business' and be ranked as the best investment destination, the Chief Minister said. For this, one important aspect is monitoring pollution levels in industrial areas. 'Appoint an officer who will monitor it through his tablet and enter it in the government database. Spot inspections will keep them alert,' the Chief Minister added.

On the other hand, the state government is also planning for a Global Investor Summit during October 12-14th, on the eve of Hudhud anniversary. The summit should reflect the resurgence of Andhra Pradesh's spirit after Hudhud battered the coastal areas. 'The investment summit will have Key Note Speakers, discussions on investment opportunities and other cultural activities. It will also witness awards for local entrepreneurs in various sectors,' an official informed the Chief Minister.

In addition, the Chief Minister asked the SIPB to chalk out plan to create bio-diversity conservation zones within towns/cities where the Forest Department has land in urban areas. 'Local bio-diversity in districts can be preserved and eventually, be developed into zoo or a bird sanctuary or Tiger/Deer Reserve,' he added.

Ministers Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, P.Narayana, P. Pulla Rao, Palle Raghunatha Reddy, Achhan Naidu and heads of departments were present at the meeting.