CURATED BY – LAKESH PANCHESHWAR | CITYCHIEFNEWS

Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Singh called Saharanpur the most suitable place for investment and appealed to entrepreneurs to come forward and invest. He was speaking as the chief guest in the divisional workshop of entrepreneur, farmer and exporter dialogue and solution under the aegis of Plywood Manufacturers Welfare Association in the campus auditorium of IIT Roorkee today.

Chief Secretary Manoj Singh said with the figures of eight years of progress of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath government that Uttar Pradesh has become the fastest developing state of the country. This state is completely friendly for the people and completely safe for entrepreneurs and this is why big entrepreneurs of the country and the world are freely coming forward in large numbers to invest here. He called Saharanpur district, which borders the states of Haryana, Uttarakhand in western Uttar Pradesh, a very suitable place for investment and appealed to entrepreneurs to invest heavily here. He said that the government will provide all possible assistance in developing Saharanpur as a plywood hub. He urged entrepreneurs to come forward to obtain licenses for this. Saharanpur District Magistrate Manish Bansal and Commissioner Atal Kumar Rai also said that Saharanpur is a prominent place in terms of basic facilities. The farmers here are progressive and the entrepreneurs and businessmen are capable and passionate at both economic and skill levels. The administration is ready to contribute fully in promoting wood-based industries in Saharanpur division. Entrepreneurs and businessmen feel secure about themselves and their businesses due to strong law and order. Before the Yogi government, the businessmen and entrepreneurs here were forced to migrate. Chief Secretary Manoj Singh said that the state government has recently given its approval to the wood art and hosiery business of Saharanpur district as one district two products. Manoj Singh said that in the eight years of Yogi Adityanath's Chief Ministership, the personal income of the people has doubled. In 2017, the per capita income per year was six hundred dollars i.e. 51 thousand rupees, which has now increased to 13 hundred dollars i.e. around 1.25 lakh rupees. Similarly, in 2017, the economy of the state was 17 lakh crores, which has now become 28 lakh crores. He said that in terms of industrialization, Uttar Pradesh is not competing with Haryana but with Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Where land is cheap. In UP, land for industries is less and expensive. The reason is that Uttar Pradesh is the only place in the world where 75 percent of the land is cultivated and 86 percent of the land has irrigation facilities. He said that Uttar Pradesh has made a policy to encourage industries in more than 25 sectors and has made a policy of FDI and capital investment to encourage entrepreneurs. Under which a provision of 75 percent subsidy for land has been made to the entrepreneurs. He said that the poor are being raised above the poverty line at a rapid pace in Uttar Pradesh.

Chief Secretary Manoj Singh announced that the state government has assured to give Rs. 10 crore for the establishment of a Centre for Excellence under research and development in Saharanpur to promote technological development. Defending the sale of poplar wood by western Uttar Pradesh farmers in Yamunanagar, Haryana, he said that farmers are free to sell their produce wherever they get a profitable price. There is a difference of Rs. 300 to Rs. 400 in the price of poplar wood in Yamunanagar and Saharanpur. If plywood industry develops in Saharanpur and farmers get a fair price for their produce here, then why will they go to other places and sell it. He said that the government will provide full support for the establishment of plywood factories in Saharanpur. The Chief Secretary listened to the problems of entrepreneurs from neighboring districts and assured their resolution. The provincial president of Plywood Manufacturers Welfare Association Ashok Agarwal presided over the function. It was due to his efforts that Chief Secretary Manoj Singh came to Saharanpur today. Former national president of IIA Ramji Suneja, Pramod Miglani, Sanjeev Arora, chapter chairman Anoop Khanna, secretary Rishabh Agarwal, Shamli entrepreneur Anuj Garg, Muzaffarnagar entrepreneur Neeraj Khedia, Bijnor entrepreneur Vikas Agarwal, FRI scientist Dr. Ashok Agarwal, Assistant General Manager of Investment Promotion Sameer Mahndi, IIT Roorkee director Dr. Kamalkant Pant, Vimal Chapda, Naresh Tiwari, member secretary of wood-based state level committee, former Indian Forest Officer Lalit Verma, commissioner Atal Kumar Rai and District Magistrate Manish Bansal gave useful suggestions in the workshop. Such a high level program was organized for the first time in Saharanpur, and people from all sections are hopeful of getting long term and positive results.