To ensure the survival of industrial structure in AJK and establish a new industrial zone here, the state government is considering to devise a plan to allocate the required funds in the upcoming budget.
Official sources told APP on Saturday that the new industrial zone was proposed to be established on an area of 25,000 kanal of land at Mirpur-Jatlan road, for which, the required land was being acquired by the government.
The sources continued that the government was giving due attention to gear up business activities in the state where a conducive atmosphere was already available for this purpose.
The government had also planned to provide due facilities to the existing and intending entrepreneurs at par with other parts of the country to ensure speedy uplift of the industrial sector.
The plan involve a network of wide roads, interrupted supply of power, water and natural gas as well as telephone facilities in new and existing industrial estates, the sources added.
The sources further said the government was also intending to give relief to those industrialists who had to face huge overhead freight charges of transportation of raw material from various parts of the country to their industrial units operating in AJK. The sources revealed that the government was also seriously contemplating the proposal of expanding tax holidays period for the new industrial units to be established in the state.
The amendments in existing five-year tax exemption law for the new comers in the AJK Industrial estates would be required to be made by the AJK Legislative Assembly, they added.
The sources indicated that the government had, meanwhile, taken strong notice of the reported increased trend of misuse of the existing five-year tax holidays by certain vested interest industrial concerns operating in the Industrial estates of Mirpur and Bhimbher districts.
It is pertinent to mention that several industrialists have already closed down their industrial units after enjoying the tax holidays on one pretext or the other or through renaming their already-based industrial units with the ulterior motives to enjoy the tax holidays for another five-year period.