New Delhi, Nov 2 (UNI) Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that as per the new notification issued by the Central government, only hi-tech and service industries will be allowed to operate in all the new industrial areas in Delhi, and no manufacturing activities will be allowed in the new industrial areas.
Addressing a virtual press conference here, he said that this will be an important step in creating a neat, clean, and green Delhi, and promoting ample opportunities for the hi-tech and service industries in Delhi. He also said that the service industries will not have to shift to different cities and will be able to run their offices in the newly set-up industries in Delhi. He also thanked Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for accepting the proposal of the Delhi government.
Mr Kejriwal said, "The Central government has taken a historic decision for the industrial areas in Delhi. We had sent a proposal to the Centre in this regard 3-4 years back, regarding which the central government has issued a notification 2-3 days back, which will change the face of all the industrial areas of Delhi. Until now, majorly manufacturing activities were allowed in the industrial areas in Delhi. There are many types of industrial areas in Delhi, such as iron, steel, plastic, etc, which are the major sources of pollution in the national capital."
As per the new decision, only hi-tech and service industries will be allowed from now on in all the new industrial areas in Delhi. No manufacturing activities will be allowed in the new industrial areas. The old industries also have the option to switch to the service sector from the manufacturing sector.
Welcoming the decision, Mr Kejriwal said, "In the coming days, we hope that all these manufacturing industries will be shut down and more and more service industries will be opened in Delhi. In the service sector, CAs, lawyers, and media offices can be opened, computer hardware and software industries, industries doing systemic integration, industries integrating and manipulating the interfaces of computer and telecom facilities, IT service, Internet and email provider, ITES services, customer interaction services, call centres, email helpdesk, back-office processing, finance and accounting, insurance claims, HR services, business processing, software extensions, media offices, TV and video program production, photo-composing and desktop publication, audio-visual services, R&D services, architect and engineer officers, ad agencies, marketing agencies, placement services, equity research services, vocational training, and educational services can be opened."
Mr Kejriwal thanked Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for the decision. "The main economy of Delhi is service-based. All the service-based industries that I just mentioned, were earlier in the office category, that could only be opened in the commercial areas. The rates in commercial areas were very high, and so these offices could not open in the commercial areas. These offices were earlier deemed suitable to be opened in Gurgaon and Noida, and not Delhi. Now, the office owners will not have to shift to different cities and they will be able to avail cheap and spacious locations in these industrial spaces in Delhi itself. Delhi will be able to get rid of polluting industries within its industrial areas, and the industrial areas of Delhi will become neat, clean, and green. We had shared the proposal with the Centre 3-4 years back. I want to personally thank Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri who took this historic step for Delhi. This will be an important step in creating a pollution-free and neat, clean, and green Delhi," Mr Kejriwal said.
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