Omar Abdullah Govt In Dock Over Exclusion Of Business Bodies From Reconstituted Khadi Board, Corporations

The corporations and KVIB were headed by an ex-advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, while KVIB was headed by the BJP's women leader Hina Shafi Bhat

Srinagar: The exclusion of prominent trade and business bodies from the recently reconstituted industrial corporations and Khadi, Village, and Industries Board (KVIB) by the Omar Abdullah-led government has dismayed them, calling it alarming and counterproductive for industrial growth.

The government this week reconstituted the Board of Directors of J&K State Industrial Development Corporation Limited (SIDCO), J&K Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Limited (SICOP), Jammu and Kashmir Cements Limited (JKCL), Jammu and Kashmir Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation (JKHHC), Jammu and Kashmir Industries Limited (JKIL), and Jammu and Kashmir Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVIB).

These corporations and KVIB were headed by a former advisor to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Rajiv Raj Bhatnagar, while KVIB was headed by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) women leader Hina Shafi Bhat. BJP said it “respected” her removal from KVIB.

These corporations and KVIB will now be headed by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, who is also the industries and commerce minister, and other bureaucrats will be its members. The corporations and the board are keys for influencing the development of industrial infrastructure and the provision of vital services to industries by helping business bodies in schemes and other policy matters.

Jammu and Kashmir’s trade and business bodies like KCCI and FCIK were always included as members of these corporations and KVIB since their formation in the erstwhile state and then UT.

Faiz Ahmad Bakshi, Secretary General of KCCI, told ETV Bharat that KCCI is writing a letter to the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, for keeping out the Valley's prominent business body.

The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called its exclusion “alarming, troubling disregard and counterproductive.”.

“The exclusion effectively leaves these corporations and the board without voices from local stakeholders who are directly affected by the policies crafted for handicrafts and industry,” Faiz Bakshi Faiz Ahmad Bakshi, Secretary General of KCCI, said.

Bakshi said the government must immediately restore its representation on the Boards of Directors of industrial handicrafts PSUs and high-level decision-making committees.

The Federation of Commerce and Industry Kashmir (FCIK) said trade and business stakeholders are actively involved in the day-to-day functioning of industries, and their input from the grassroots is essential to shape policies that encourage investment, address regional challenges, and stimulate growth.

“When the boards of industry-related PSUs and high-level committees are deprived of the perspectives of stakeholders, the policies are more likely to be ineffective and even counterproductive, as witnessed over the past many years now,” FCIK president Shahid Kamili said.

Kamili said he has personally raised the issue with Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary and Advisor to the CM Nasir Aslam Wani, both of whom have assured him that FCIK will be included in the keyboards of industry-related PSUs.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary told ETV Bharat that their inclusion will be considered by the government.

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