By IANS,
Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) : Rajasthan will consider a single nodal agency to oversee industrial development in this key town, as it goes for the next phase of expansion by doubling the area earmarked for industrial units.
The proposal came after a year-long study conducted by Integrated Institute of Learning in Management (IILM) at Jaipur that called for a unified authority with sweeping powers to coordinate planning and implementation of the developmental potential in the area.
The study, released here Wednesday, was commissioned by the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO), which had developed Bhiwadi in three phases and now looks forward to investing in its next phase.
“Bhiwadi, along with Neemrana and Ghilot, has come up in a big way as an industrial hub and RIICO will took at the recommendations seriously for upgrading the infrastructure,” said Principal Industries Secretary Sunil Arora, who is also also chairman of RIICO.
“The recommendations will be discussed at the next board meeting of RIICO. A task force will be formed to oversee the implementable recommendations of the survey report,” he said adding issues within the purview of RIICO and the state will be dealt with soon.
Some key recommendations of the report, involving public-private partnership:
-Construction of an outer peripheral road and arterial roads as toll roads
-Set up an integrated freight complex
-Establish non-manufacturing industries in specialised zones
-Improve health, educational and social facilities
-Evolve water supply, sewerage and solid waste management schemes
Bhiwadi, which had no industries in 1971 and was more an agrarian economy with a small population of 1,624 people, today has around 2,000 small, medium and large industries spread over 3,347 acres of land. The proposal is for an 3,000 acres.
The industries in Bhiwadi now include those in steel, automobile, furnaces, electronics, engineering products, textiles, pharmaceuticals, cable, rolling mills, herbal care, food processing and printing.
State Planning Board Deputy Chairman V.S. Vyas said it was a unique effort on the part of RIICO to get a survey done with academic support, that looked at the problems faced in Bhiwadi in a bid to provide an environment conducive for industrial development.
“Such efforts are needed in all the states to develop. The needs of the community and industry have to be kept in mind for development to take place for the overall benefit of the people,” Prof. Vyas said.
RIICO Managing Director Rajendra Bhanawat said the study was commissioned to identify the gaps in development, which were proving to be irritants for the industrialists and their staff. He promised an action plan to ensure proper urbanisation at Bhiwadi.
According to officials, problem areas identified in the study were that of law and order, residential accommodation, local transportation, drainage and even lack of fire stations.
“If there is a single authority acting as a coordinating body in Bhiwadi it shall help the various development agencies in their respective work,” said Prof. Ashok Bapna, Adviser-IILM and Member of the State Planning Board.
He said the agency must also get sweeping powers coupled with state of the art technical capabilities. None of the organisations operating in Bhiwadi today are in a position to fully discharge any of the major two implementing or regulatory functions, he added.
The Bhiwadi region consists of Bhiwadi town, Tapookara, Khushkhera and Chopanki. While the Bhiwadi industrial area is fully occupied, the industrial areas of Tapookara, Khushkhera and Chopanki are largely unoccupied.
Bhiwadi industrial area is strategically located along the National Capital Region with a proximity to large markets in the northern region. In the recent past there has been considerable interest shown by investors in investing in the region.