Township tag finally comes Peenya Industries way

Yes, if all goes well, come April 1, 2010, City’s & South East Asia’s premier Peenya Industrial Area (PIA) will be bestowed with the much coveted township tag.  And this will mark a new beginning for the 40 sq km PIA which houses over 3,000 small scale industries besides 50 large and medium companies, providing employment to over 4,00,000 people, including 2,00,000 women.

PIA was formed nearly four decades ago as an outsourcing destination for State PSUs. However, the apathetic physical infrastructure and lack of proper civic amenities, had put paid to its unhampered growth and development these years. However, this will be thing of past that PIA would happily wish away.

Official sources told Deccan Herald  that at the recent Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary, the Cabinet Note on grant of autonomous township status was deliberated and the note moved to Urban Development Department for necessary action, amendment, and implementation.

Bowing to the demands of Peenya Industries Association for a township authority, the State government had taken necessary steps to establish the Peenya Industrial Township Authority under 74th amendment to the Constitution & the Delimitation Commission.

In fact, Peenya industrialists had impressed upon the then BBMP Commissioner S Subramanya for separate taxation system for industrial area alone.  Following this, while shooting down their demand, he, however, had recommended to the government to bestow it with industrial township status to keep it out of BBMP jurisdiction so that the association collects its own taxes and carries out necessary civil works.

Sources said nitty-gritties of revenue sharing between the township and BBMP is being finetuned with Gujarat’s 70:30 revenue sharing formula as framework. Out of total revenues of the township, besides the 20 per cent royalty payable to local civic body, it has to earmark 30 per cent towards slum development and other works around the township sources said. Since the Gujarat model has worked fine sources added they see no difficulty the same holding good here as well.

However, a section of Peenya association said 30 per cent was too hefty and eat into major chunk of their revenue generation, while, however, stating they will reconcile to it over time and bear it. They said they are working hard to nullify this burden wrest a winning deal for themselves, while conceding ultimately it is for betterment of the township and all concerned.

Stating the separate township status would surely open a new chapter for PIA, they said, though there would be initial hiccups in administration, however, being industrialists and aware of pains and gains first hand, they would come out fine.