GS Asgotra
Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 28: With intention to combat rapidly increasing unemployment in the state, the government of India has directed state government to provide all assistance to small scale industrial centres, but the state government has deprived the Small Scale Industrial Centre, Digiana from round the clock power supply, curbing its functioning substantially.
Small Scale Industrial Centre, Digiana is considered as one of the oldest Industrial Centre of Jammu and since the Centre was established, it has been getting step motherly treatment in term of 24x7 hours electricity. While as the newly established Centres in Jammu province including Kathua, Samba, Bari Brahmana have been getting round the clock electricity, sources said.
The industrialists further said that however, the government has directed the Power Development Department (PDD) to provide electricity to all the industrial units by Dedicated feeders and not by the Domestic Feeders but Digiana Centre was the unique example of step mother treatment, where electricity still being supplied by Domestic feeder, resulting the employers get huge lose due to hide and seek played by power.
"Since last five years, we have been demanding to set up a small grid station in Digiana Industrial Estate, so that we will get un-interrupted electricity supply but due to callous approach of the department concerned and the government, no heed has been paid by the government', said another employer.
They further said that the new industrial policy offers various incentives to the industrial's units in forms of Generator Set Subsidy, in those places where government fails to provide round the clock electricity supply but the old Industrial Estate, Digiana, has been facing lot of problems as still they have been facing the vagaries of power curtailments", sources said.
They further informed that the small scale industries in the said area has been getting power supply from domestic power supply line feeder, besides there was no subsidy being provided to these industrial units.
The buck of step motherly treatment didn't stop here, as the condition of the Digiana Industrial Estate is very poor on account of infrastructure facilities, despite huge availability of funds being provided by government every year. The connecting roads and drains are in very poor shape and during heavy rains water accumulated in the potholes, making it difficult to even pass the roads. |
