K P PAPER Vs. STATE OF JANDK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER has filed this writ petition seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus against the respondents commanding them to grant it permanent Registration and all those benefits as may be available to industrial Units under the Industrial Policy of the State of Jammu and kashmir. M/s K. P. Paper, initially a sole proprietorship concern, which later came to be constituted as a partnership firm, applied to the respondents seeking permission to set up an Industrial Unit for manufacturing paper as Medium and Large Scale Industry. Its proposal to set up an Industrial unit was approved by the Apex Project Clearance Committee (APCC for short) constituted in terms of the Industrial Policy of the State, and a provisional Certificate was issued to it by the Jammu and Kashmir State industrial Corporation Limited, the Nodal Officer notified as such under the Single Window Clearance System contemplated by the Industrial policy of the State. The petitioner had initially taken land on lease hold basis in village barwal of District Kathua. It, however, with the permission of the respondents-authorities and APCC, shifted its project site from Barwal to village Chak Ramchand in District Kathua. Provisional Registration certificate for setting up a Medium and Large Scale Industry was, accordingly, granted to it for the changed location. Toll tax exemption on import of building material needed for setting up the Unit too was granted to the petitioner by the Deputy Excise commissioner, Lakhanpur on the recommendations of Director industries and Commerce, Jandk Government, Exhibition Ground Jammu. Petitioner is stated to have invested approximately Thirty One crores of rupees in setting up the Unit and has been paying an amount of rupees Twenty Lacs per month as interest thereon.

(2.) ACCORDING to the petitioner, the Unit stands registered with the sales Tax and other authorities and all requisite formalities to set up and commission the Medium and Large Scale Industrial Unit for manufacture of paper thus stands completed. The Jammu and Kashmir State Pollution control Board too had granted its consent under Sections 25/26 of the water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Section 21 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 to establish the unit at village Chak Ramchand Tehsil and District Kathua. The respondents, according to the petitioner had, however, refused Permanent registration to it thereby stalling the whole process of commissioning the unit. Aggrieved by the refusal of the respondents to grant it Permanent registration for setting up and commissioning its Medium and Large scale Industry, petitioner has approached this Court invoking its extra ordinary civil writ jurisdiction to issue a command to the respondents to grant it Permanent Registration and all those benefits which may be available to it under the Industrial Policy of the State. Contesting petitioner's case for providing it Permanent registration and making it available all those benefits which are available to Industrial Unit under the Industrial Policy of the State, the state-respondents have opposed the grant of reliefs to the petitioner on twin grounds, viz.

(3.) I have heard Mr. Rohit Kapoor, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Altaf Naik, learned Advocate General appearing for the respondents. Projecting petitioner's case and meeting the defence set up by the respondents to oppose petitioner's writ petition, Mr. Kapoor urged that the laws in force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir do not prohibit lease of immovable property in favour of Non Residents of the State which position in law was well settled in view of the law laid-down by this court in Estate Officer vs. K. K. Amla, reported as SLJ 1989 Jandk, 105. Learned counsel submitted that the respondents had granted Permanent registration to various similarly situated Units such as Komal Paper Mill jagatpur, District Kathua, T. K. Paper Mill Saktachak Kathua, besides jammu Pigment, Makhan Alloy and Bharat Box, which had obtained land on lease from private persons to set up their Industrial Units and the petitioner had been discriminated against for no valid reasons. Disputing petitioner's entitlement to seek Permanent Registration of its Unit by Director Industries and Commerce, Mr. Naik initially argued that Provisional Registration obtained by the petitioner from sidco would not provide it any right to seek Permanent Registration because SIDCO had no authority to grant Provisional Registration to its unit, which power, according to the learned Advocate, vested in Director industrial and Commerce, Jammu and Kashmir Government, respondent no. 2, but on being confronted with Government Order no. 94-Ind of 2004 dated 31. 03. 2004, issued pursuant to Government Order no. 21-Ind of 2004 dated 27. 01. 2004, in terms of Cabinet Decision No. 19/1 dated 23. 01. 2004 pertaining to New Industrial Policy, 2004 and Package of incentives for development of industries in the State of Jammu and kashmir, indicating in its clause 4. 13 that the Managing Director SIDCO would be the Nodal Officer for Medium and Large Scale Industrial Units and all applications for registration of Medium and Large Scale Industrial units shall be submitted to the Managing Director SIDCO at his office at jammu and Srinagar in the same manner as provided for Small Scale units, learned Advocate General had nothing to say to support his submission that the Provisional Registration of the petitioner's Unit was unauthorized.