Small-scale industrialists staged a protest outside the District Industries Centre (DIC) at Millergunj on Thursday, demanding an extension of the mixed land use (MLU) policy that expired on September 30.
They warned that the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) could issue notices to units as they no longer have the regulatory cover provided under the policy. Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisations (FICO) president Gurmeet Singh Kular had met chief minister Bhagwant Mann and sought a permanent solution for industries operating in mixed land use areas. The protesters said the expiry of the policy had left more than 10,000 industrial units operating across 72 MLU areas in the city uncertain about their future. The protest, led by Janta Nagar Small Scale Manufacturers Association president Jaswinder Singh Thukral, continued for an hour from noon to 1 pm. The mixed land use policy was introduced by the Shiromani Akali Dal government in 2008 for 10 years after industrialists raised concerns over However, as alternative infrastructure failed to materialise within the stipulated period, the Congress government extended the policy by five years in 2018. The AAP government granted another three-year extension in 2023, which expired on September 30 this year.
The units employ around one lakh workers, they said. Thukral said the expiry of the policy had left thousands of industrialists anxious about the future of their businesses. Kular said the chief minister had assured him that the government would ensure a timely resolution of the issue.
