Guwahati, Jul 3 (PTI) Assam Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Friday said that an ordinance to facilitate MSME units will not affect the land rights of the indigenous people of the state.

Amid condemnation of the ordinance, he said the law will not affect the curbs on sale or transfer of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes.

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Patowary asserted the 'Assam Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Facilitation of Establishment and Operation) Ordinance, 2020' will be a game-changer for the state's economy.

"This ordinance will not affect the land rights of indigenous people of Assam as protected by the Assam Agricultural Land (Regulation of Reclassifications and Transfer for Non-Agricultural Purpose) Act, 2015.

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"This ordinance does not affect the restrictions on sale or transfer of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes as protected under the aforesaid Act," he said.

The bar on use or transfer of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes as provided under the existing laws shall remain as it is and the new ordinance will not affect it at all which means that the agricultural land of the indigenous people will remain with them, Patwowary said.

"The provision of the ordinance approved by the Cabinet on June 30 shall be applicable to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises only and not for large industries where investment is more than Rs 50 crore," he said.

The minister said the state's economy has been adversely affected and the business environment is depressing due to COVID-19 outbreak.

"In such a situation, the ordinance will create a conducive environment, drive the domestic growth, attract investment and accelerate industrial development in the state. After notification of the ordinance, the entrepreneurs will not be required to take most of the statutory permissions for the first three years to set up their industries," he said.

The state has around 24 lakh unemployed youths, of which 20 lakh are already registered in Assam and 3.5 lakh returning from other states due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Patowary said.

On June 29, the Council of Ministers (CoM) of the state government approved the ordinance, putting an end to the process of taking multiple permissions for MSMEs for the next three years.

Any person who intends to start an enterprise has to furnish a self-declaration with an undertaking to follow all the relevant provisions of the set acts and rules, except fire and power permissions.

This led to widespread condemnation on social media by Congress and organisations like All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) while several people alleged that the government was pursuing rampant industrialisation by compromising the environment.

Patowary tried to alleviate these fears and said the ordinance does not deal with sale or purchase of any type of land and it does not allow any person to buy or sell any agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes.

"Therefore, any apprehension that an entrepreneur under the provisions of this ordinance will buy agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes is totally unfounded," he said.

The ordinance says that if the owner of an agricultural land wants to set up an MSME unit, then he is eligible for reclassification as per the Assam Agricultural Land (Regulation of Reclassifications and Transfer for Non- Agricultural Purpose) Act, 2015 only for three years, Patowary said.

"During that period or within the next six months of expiry of three years, the person will have to get his land converted into non-agricultural land, following all prescribed procedures and after payment of requisite premium," Patowary said.

As per provisions of the ordinance, the Acknowledgement Certificate shall not entitle a person to use land in deviation to the land use specified in the Master Plan wherever such plan is in force, he added.

Lands falling in restricted categories like public grazing reserve, village grazing reserve, wetlands, eco- sensitive zones, heritage, historical, archaeological sites; land settled, allotted or reserved for religious institutions like satras, namghars, temples, wakf; and land under tribal belts and blocks will not come under this ordinance.

"During the period of three years, no authority shall undertake any inspection for the purpose of issue of any approval... The exemption from approval for three years shall be provided in respect of State Acts and Rules only," Patowary said.

An enterprise cannot set up industry related to hazardous products without obtaining prior permission as it is mandatory under the relevant Central Act, he added.

Patowary claimed that only a few states like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka have brought out such ordinances and acts to facilitate the MSME sector.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)