Piyush Goyal urges states to fast track National Industrial Corridor projects

New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI): Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has urged the states to put the National Industrial Corridor Corporation (NICDC) projects on the fast track and set a deadline for the acquisition and allotment of land in industrial nodes and clusters.
Addressing the investor round table conference on National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, Goyal warned the states that the projects could be shifted to other states if the allotted states fail to acquire land and fast track the development.
"Eighteen states are being urged to do their decision making very quickly, offer the land, otherwise we will be forced to foreclose those projects and maybe offer them to other states who may be willing to speed up the investment," Goyal said.
The Minister, however, warned there should be no land squatting but units must be set up soon that would lead to the absorption of new technologies and creation of jobs, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday. The round table meeting was held on Thursday night.
"Ultimately the nation's assets have to be put to good use. As we say in business management terminology, 'Let's sweat our assets as much as we can, let's put to use whatever infrastructure or facilities that are created wherever to the maximum possible use," Goyal said.
The National Industrial Corridor Corporation (NICDC) is implementing 11 corridors comprising 32 projects in four phases.
Stating that one NICDC project is at the cusp of taking off, Goyal said several states are offering incentives under NICDC projects. CEO, Greater NOIDA has committed to allotment of land in 20 days and CEO, Dholera has offered 50 per cent discount on the land cost to the first anchors for the first 30 per cent of plots available, he said.
NICDC is India's pioneering infrastructure programme, developing new industrial cities as 'Smart cities' through the convergence of next-gen technologies, creating benchmarks and competition with the best manufacturing/investment destinations in the world.
The NICDC was approved by the Government in December 2020 for the development of 11 industrial corridors with 32 state-of-the-art projects to be developed in 4 phases by 2026-27.
A combined investment of Rs 16,760 crore has been already done in the 4 cities for the 173 allotted plots. The four 'Smart' industrial cities are emerging at Dholera (Gujarat), Shendra Bidkin (Maharashtra), Vikram Udhogpuri (MP) & Integrated Industrial Township in Greater Noida (UP).
At the national level, Infra initiatives are being driven by the Government's flagship programme, - PM Gati Shakti. It will play a key role in streamlining the remaining 28 NICDC projects under implementation with an aim to bring down the logistics cost, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said. (ANI)