City bizmen join hands to set up focal point at Katani Khurd

Ludhiana: Facing an acute shortage of industrial land for setting up new factories and expansion of the old ones, along with the state government being unable to take concrete steps, city businessmen have now taken the matter into their own hands. Punjab’s largest business association Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) in association with Ludhiana Sewing Machine Industries Association have now floated expression of interest for industrial plots at Katani Khurd near the site of the cycle valley.
By using social media, they are inviting businessmen interested in buying industrial plots to fill a simple online form mentioning the size of plot they want to purchase. Applications will be accepted in the next three days and after the close of applications these will be scrutinised to calculate the total area required. Following this, they will make efforts on their own to purchase the land collectively or approach a government organisation to sell them the pool of land at nominal rates.
Giving more information, Upkar Singh Ahuja, president of CICU, said, “There is a huge shortage of new and modern focal points in the city for the industry, which is ever expanding and for setting up of new units as well. So, keeping in view the demands from businessmen for plots at nominal rates and with all modern facilities, we have floated an expression of interest for developing a new focal point at Katani Khurd near the cycle valley. Taking the help of social media, we have asked the interested businessmen to fill a simple online form mentioning the size of plot they are looking to buy, along with their particulars. We will accept the request for next three days after which we will calculate the total amount of land needed according to the demand received. Then we will try and connect with some government agency like Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) to help us in fulfilling our land requirements at nominal rates.”
According to Amarjit Singh Swan, president of Ludhiana Sewing Machine Industries Association, “As of now, we are scouting for minimum 50 acres for setting up a focal point for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Our aim is not only to provide industrial plots at nominal rates, but also to ensure that this focal point is with the most modern facilities and infrastructure as per the international standards. In just a day of starting the formalities in this regard we have already started receiving good response from the prospective buyers and we are hoping that we will meet the target of demand of 50 acres easily.”