Senior BJP leader & member of the party’s National Coun-cil Sanjay Tandon on Tues-day led a delegation of Laghu Udyog Bharti, Chandigarh branch, to the UT Adminis-trator and Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and submitted a memorandum seeking early action on key pending demands, including FAR increase, of particularly the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s).
The delegation comprised Avi Bhasin, President; Ak-shay Chugh, Senior Vice President; Sunil Khetarpal, Vice President and Manish Nigam, General Secretary of Laghu Udyog Bharti. Tandon expressed gratitude to the Administrator for his recent intervention, which has led to movement on several long-pending industrial issues, creating a positive sentiment samong entrepreneurs.
However, he urged further eproactive steps to strengthen – the industrial ecosystem and improve ease of doing busi-ness in the Union Territory. Highlighting operational challenges faced by industries, Tandon requested permission for automobile service stations, including repair, spare parts, and accessories,
within the Industrial Area. He also called for allowing service-based industries that directly support manufactur-ing units, such as suppliers of hardware goods, iron and steel sheets, pipes, machinery and mill stores. He empha-sized that under the MSME Development Act, 2006, such trading and service activities are considered integral to the industrial ecosystem.
Tandon noted that these businesses require large spaces and logistical facili-ties, including heavy loading and unloading, which are not feasible in commercial markets. Tandon further urged the Administration to permit factory outlets within Indus-trial Areas to promote locally manufactured products.
He said this step would strengthen MSMEs, generate employment, and support flagship national initiatives like Make in India and Lo-cal for Vocal. He pointed out that similar provisions already exist in other indus-trial cities and have proven effective in fostering com-petitiveness and supporting industry-friendly policies.
Reiterating the need for policy reforms, Tandon stressed that these measures would align with national industrial frameworks and significantly improve the business environment in Chandigarh.
