LAHORE, June 24: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi announced on Tuesday a new Punjab industrial policy, eliminating inspections by labour inspectors, revising the social security system and withdrawing the education cess related to it.

He also announced the creation of the Punjab Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (PIEDMC) with an initial provincial government loan of Rs1 billion to create new industrial estates in the province on the pattern of those in the Far East.

The chief minister was speaking at the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) and Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC) Convention 2003 at a local hotel.

He said the policy was formed while keeping in view the problems being faced by the industry mainly due to inspections by labour inspectors, complications of the social security system and procedural hurdles in the way of new units.

“Everyone knows that at present establishing a new industry is like a nightmare for every entrepreneur. In addition to the undue interference by government departments, intending investors have to undergo an ordeal for obtaining every required facility,” the chief minister said.

Pervaiz Elahi promised all steps needed to make TEVTA and PVTC more industrial-driven, and said the industrial policy was investment-friendly.

LABOUR INSPECTORS: The inspections by labour inspectors had been replaced by a self-declaration system. The six-page inspection related complicated proforma had also been replaced by a two-page simple self-declaration form in Urdu and English languages.

Pervaiz Elahi hoped that the step would create a simple, transparent mechanism beneficial not only for the industrialists but also for their workers.

He said the inspections by labour inspectors were creating hurdles in the promotion of industry, wasting not only the time of the employers and harassing them but also giving no benefit to the workers.

CESS: The education cess under the social security system had been abolished as it was not being used for the purpose of its collection.

The educational institutions concerned would now be taken care of by the provincial government, he said.

SOCIAL SECURITY: Under the new social security system the units making first payments would be exempted from inspection for the next three years.

There would be a self-declaration system for units having 50 or more workers. Such units would be required to monthly declare their particulars on simple forms, depositing them along with the self-assessed charges with the local social security offices.

The previous accounts of the self-declaring units would not be opened on the basis of their latest declarations, he assured.

The chief minister said the private sector had been rightly complaining that despite paying huge amounts for social security, workers were not given due facilities. Protection of the rights of industrial workers was the prime responsibility of the government which it would discharge with dedication, he said.

For that purpose, he said, funds had been released for the reconstruction or upgradation of 20 social security hospitals in the province.

Each hospital would have at least 100 beds as against their present total strength of 1,400 beds. The government would spend Rs 2.50 billion for the purpose, he said.

The government was also introducing a system under which workers would be given all amenities at a single place.

Under it, residential colonies would be built for them in large industrial centres. These would have schools for their children, social security hospitals and technical training institutions. “My government has allocated another Rs2.50 billion for realizing this new vision,” the chief minister said.

He said the social security assessment and collection system had been changed to evolve a method through which the government could correctly get information about all workers requiring the cover.

PIEDMC: The condition of the industrial estate created by the public sector in the province was known to everyone. These were still waiting for industrialists many of them preferred to establish units somewhere else. This was against the estates in Far East which were functioning successfully.

Pervaiz Elahi said the PIEDMC had already been approved and would be notified in one month.

The company, he said, would have all the financial support of the government but mainly comprise private sector. Its board of directors would include representatives of the provincial government but the chairman would be from the private sector.

Pervaiz Elahi explained that the company would, under directions from the board, engage experts for the implementation of its policies. If required, the government would acquire land for a new industrial estate and hand over it to the company.

He said the company would also be given loan for establishing the industrial estates which it would return after selling fully developed plots to the intending industrialists.

The chief minister said the company would also provide power, gas and telephone facilities to all the plots which it would obtain in bulk.

Each industrial estate would be linked to TEVTA and have social security medical centres. He said the government had directed the company to establish the first industrial estate within a year. “After the success of which we intend to create a chain of industrial estates in the province under the guidance of the private sector,” he said.

Pervaiz Elahi said the government also planned to improve the existing industrial estates in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat and Multan according to international standards. Funds had already been released to the company concerned for the purpose, he said.

The chief minister asked the industries and labour ministers and officials of their departments to visit all chambers of commerce and industry to explain the benefits of the new policy to the investors there and to convey to them the good intentions of the government.

TEVTA: The government had given a practicable shape to public-private partnership through TEVTA, giving representation to people belonging to different walks of life in its board and district management boards.

The government could not give jobs to people without the participation of the private sector, the chief minister said.

He hoped that this arrangement would enable TEVTA produce industrial-driven manpower, also enabling the young people to get jobs after a purposeful training.

He said the government had decided to set up a centre of excellence of TEVTA in each district which would make planning after assessing the local industrial requirements.

He also announced hiring and firing powers of officials up to BS-18 to TEVTA chairman. The same powers about officers in BS-19 and above would rest with him.

TEVTA Chairman Sikandar Mustafa Khan, Chief Minister’s Adviser Jehangir Tareen, TEVTA Boards of Management Presidents in Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Lahore also spoke on the occasion.

Punjab Labour Minister Syed Akhtar Husain Rizvi and Industries Minister Muhammad Ajmal Cheema, senior government officers and leading industrialists from all over the province also attended the function.