Delhi Industries Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday met the representatives of factory owners of the city to discuss revamping factory zones through a scheme with 90 per cent of costs to be borne by the government.

The purpose of the scheme is to develop and maintain industrial areas in the national capital.

Representatives of factory owners from 27 industrial areas of the city attended the meeting at the Delhi Secretariat in the presence of senior officials from the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC).

Interacting with the trade organisations during the meeting, Bharadwaj said the Delhi government is very serious about the development and maintenance of 27 unplanned industrial areas. It has been working with organisations for a long time to develop these areas and has come up with a scheme for their revamp.

Under this scheme, 90 per cent of the costs associated with the layout plan for the development of these industrial areas will be borne by the Delhi government, while 10 per cent will be borne by the factory owners. This will ensure shared responsibility between the government and the trade organisations in these industrial areas, the minister added.

During the meeting, Brijesh Goyal, chairman of CTI, an apex organisation of traders and entrepreneurs, requested the minister on behalf of all trade organisations to consider reducing the high fee for MCD map approvals in these 27 unplanned industrial areas.

He said there are 29 authorised industrial areas and 27 unplanned industrial areas in the city. Factory owners from the unplanned areas have requested the government to include the cost of MCD map approvals under the scheme.

The minister accepted the demand and instructed officials to consider a policy where map approval fees are in line with the government’s scheme.

President of the Delhi Manufacturing Federation Vijay Virmani welcomed the government’s scheme during the meeting, claiming that it was for the first time in the past 30 years a government has taken an interest in the concerns of traders.

He further said that there are small factories in industrial areas like Dabri, Khayala, Hastsal, Nangli Sakravati, Nawada, Peeragarhi, Rithala, Mandoli, Haiderpur, Karawal Nagar, Shalimar Village, Samaypur Badli, Libaspur, Tikri Kalan, etc., where middle-class traders run their businesses, and thousands of people work in these areas.

Virmani added that the development of these industrial areas will not only benefit the trader community but also promote industries, create new job opportunities, and improve Delhi’s economy.