Thiruvananthapuram: Despite the presence of KSIDC, KFC and flashy industrial growth centres, the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the state have always found the going tough in the state. Even the single window clearance created for promoting MSMEs had fallen flat. This was revealed in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on Public Sector Undertakings, which was tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday.
There is a paradox in the stunted growth of MSMEs. The infrastructure for their growth was inadequate but they had failed to utilise the ones that were available. “Delay in completion of multi-storeyed industrial estates deprived MSMEs of much needed infrastructure. Progress achieved in establishing Common Facility Centres under MSME-Cluster Development Programme was negligible,” the report noted. On the other hand, parks established by KINFRA remain unutilised. “Actual utilisation of developed land in the industrial growth centres established KSIDC was only 41.25 percent,” the report said. It was also observed that the infra provided in the industrial estate and parks under Kerala Small Industrial Development Corporation Limited was not satisfactory.
For the speedy issue of various licences, clearances and certificates required for setting up industrial units in the state, Kerala Industrial Single Window Clearance Boards and Industrial Township Area Development Act, 199, was enacted. The Audit examined applications received under the single window clearance scheme in Palakkad, Pathanamthitta and Kozhikode districts and found that out of 252 applications processed during the period 2011-12 to 2015-16 by the district single window clearance boards, only 16 were cleared within the stipulated period of 60 days. In respect of processing the remaining 236 applications, there was delay up to three years.
In a survey of 194 MSMEs in the state conducted by the CAG, 64 percent said they were not aided by the Single Window mechanism. According to the Department of Industries and Commerce, the delays in the issue of clearances were mostly the doing of the State Pollution Board.
