SIDCUL faces dearth of land, banks on Sitarganj, Kashipur

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After allotting most of its land for industrialisation, the government-owned State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL) is now banking on its vast land at industrial towns of Kashipur and Sitarganj in Kumaon region for further industrialisation.

This is because SIDCUL is left with very little land at its key industrial estates like Pantnagar. There is hardly 25-30 acres of land left at Pantnagar for the purpose of industrial plots, an official said.

In most of the other industrial estates like Haridwar, there is virtually no land left or it is of a very small size.

SIDCUL is now focusing on its new plans to develop vast lands at Kashipur and Sitarganj. It wants to develop a knowledge hub at Sitarganj along with a gas-based power plant where it possesses nearly 250 acres of land.

In the nearby Sitarganj, SIDCUL has chalked plans to develop another industrial estate for thrust industries at over 1,200 acres of land. An environment impact assessment report in this regard is being prepared by IIT Roorkee.

“The report will be ready and we will approach the government to get the final nod for the allotment of land there,” the official said.

However, the official admitted that there had been a lot of delay in developing both Sitarganj and Kashipur industrial estates. After a series of alleged scandals that rocked SIDCUL, the corporation is treading a very cautious approach as far as developing new industrial estates are concerned.

The government is yet to receive the SIDCUL investigating report which is being prepared by Arvind Verma, a former IAS officer.

In the meantime, government would continue to allot all remaining industrial lands at the industrial estates developed by SIDCUL on “first-come-first-served” basis and not on the basis of expression of interests.

“We are still continuing with the policy of first-come-first-served. We are allotting all our plots through this policy only,” said the official. Last October, the SIDCUL had invited applications for the allotment of all its remaining plots at SIDCUL with October 25 being the last date.

However, thereafter the government switched over to the first-come-first-served policy.

After the expiry of the excise inventive for industries under the industrial package in Uttarakhand last year, the industrialisation process in the hill state has developed sluggishness as far as the new manufacturing units are concerned.

However, scores of the existing industries are going for sizeable expansion programmes.

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