Kejriwal, Mann launch ‘FastTrack' portal to spur industrial growth
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday launched the 'FastTrack Punjab Portal' aimed at ensuring that an investor gets all the required approvals within 45 days of applying to start new businesses, setting up projects and expanding industries in the state.
Addressing a gathering during the launch of the portal here, Mann and Kejriwal rolled out 12 initiatives under Punjab Udyog Kranti, branding them as the 'biggest industrial reforms in 75 years.'
Mann emphasised that the initiative aims to boost both revenue and employment opportunities.
'We want industrialists to grow and employment to increase. When your revenue rises, you'll set up more industries, creating more jobs. We will fill the treasury and provide jobs,' he stated.
Kejriwal said all approvals for an industrial project will be given within 45 days. 'If one does not get approvals within 45 days, then an investor will get deemed approval for his project automatically,' the former Delhi chief minister said.
'If you want to set up a new project, start a new business, expand your business or diversify business and you apply on the 'Invest Punjab Portal', you will get time-bound approvals,' Kejriwal said calling it the 'end of corruption and nepotism.
Kejriwal hailed the deemed approval system as a game changer and said: 'Investors will no longer run from pillar to post. Everyone will be on their toes now. The software will ensure action is taken against the one who held up the file.'
Kejriwal outlined how accountability is being hardwired into the system. 'Once initial objections are cleared approvals must be given within the stipulated time. If delays occur, the matter will be escalated to the chief secretary level. An internal probe will be then launched to identify the officer responsible for the delay,' he said.
Mann shared that the system enables entrepreneurs to pay for all statutory clearances (change of land use (CLU), forest, pollution, fire, etc.) via a single stamp paper. 'Clearances are granted within 15 days through the Invest Punjab Portal,' Mann said.
Kejriwal also announced a self-certification system for building plans, structural safety, and fire NOCs—eliminating bottlenecks. 'For the first time, investors can focus on business,' he said.
Mann said that the scope of the Right to Business Act has been expanded to cover investments up to ₹125 crore, with in-principle approvals given within 3 to 15 days, depending on location.
Kejriwal announced that ₹250 crore in incentives will be disbursed this quarter— five times what the previous Congress government managed in five years. Kejriwal further informed that the state government will invest ₹300 crore in upgrading infrastructure across industrial focal points by November 2025.
'Those who left Punjab due to corruption and harassment must return. We are building a new Punjab—transparent, competitive, and corruption-free,' Kejriwal said.
Linking industrialisation to social reform, Mann said, 'We want to hand tiffins to our youth, not syringes. The job creation is a solution to Punjab's drug problem.'
BOX
Strategic initiatives
Unified digital gateway for industry
Single entry and exit for all clearances
Timeline for approvals capped at 45 days
Post 45 days, portal to auto-generate legally valid deemed approval
Projects up to ₹125-cr to get approval in 3 days
Online self-certification
Fire NOC now valid for 1, 3 and 5 years based on risk classification
Fire drawings made by empanelled architects to be accepted
Height limit of industry buildings increased to 21m
53-point checklist eliminated
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