Uttarakhand chief minister meets prime minister for industrial package

In an unusual move, Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank along with his entire cabinet met prime minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today to seek an extension of the Concessional Industrial Package (CIP) for the state for another ten years.

The Uttarakhand Government wants the Centre to extend the package -- ending on March 31 -- till 2020 on the lines of a similar measure offered to the northeastern states.

State government sources said Nishank might settle for a three-year extension of the package.

This was the third meeting between Nishank and the prime minister in recent times on the issue.

Nearly 2000 industrial units have been set up in Uttarakhand since the launch of the package which provides tax holiday.

According to the state government, it has resulted in jobs to 1,21,811 people. The bulk of the investment has been made in Haridwar, Uddham Singh Nagar, Dehradun and Nainital.

A 10-year CIP was introduced in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh by the NDA government in January 2003. The UPA government curtailed the package period to 2007 but later extended it to 2010.