FCIK lashes at former J&K bureaucrats for opposing regulatory reforms to provide relief to entrepreneurs
STC NEWS DESK
SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 10 (STC): The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) on Saturday strongly rejected concerns raised by the Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) over the Jammu and Kashmir Ease of Doing Business Act, 2026, accusing the group of overlooking statutory safeguards and questioning why former senior bureaucrats were opposing reforms aimed at reducing administrative hurdles for entrepreneurs.
In a statement issued to media, the Federation described GCC’s apprehensions as misleading and speculative, saying the legislation represented a long-awaited opportunity to address regulatory difficulties faced by Kashmir’s industrial sector for decades.
FCIK said it was particularly concerning that some former senior bureaucrats associated with GCC, who had held influential administrative positions when entrepreneurs faced extensive regulatory controls, were now questioning measures intended to simplify those procedures.
The Federation said it had repeatedly approached successive administrations seeking reforms to eliminate overlapping departmental jurisdictions, arbitrary inspections, prolonged delays in clearances and excessive documentation requirements.
“Thousands of entrepreneurs have suffered humiliation, financial losses and uncertainty under a system where their investments and livelihoods remained hostage to bureaucratic discretion. These reforms represent a long-awaited opportunity to free enterprise from that stranglehold,” FCIK said.
It maintained that political disturbances, natural calamities and economic uncertainty had already affected industrial growth in Jammu and Kashmir, while administrative delays and excessive regulatory controls had further discouraged investment and employment generation.
Responding to GCC’s environmental concerns, FCIK argued that the legislation contained provisions addressing environmental protection, human safety, public interest and planning restrictions.
The Federation maintained that the Act was intended to remove unnecessary procedural barriers rather than exempt businesses from substantive statutory obligations.
It questioned GCC’s interpretation of provisions relating to deemed approvals, inspection moratoriums and Master Plan relaxations, saying time-bound clearances and risk-based inspections were established approaches to improving regulatory accountability.
“An inspection undertaken to prevent genuine environmental harm or danger to human life is entirely different from one conducted merely because an officer possesses the authority to do so. The former protects society; the latter, when exercised arbitrarily, becomes an instrument of harassment,” the Federation said.
FCIK also rejected the argument that Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living were competing priorities, asserting that industrial activity contributed directly to household incomes, employment, ancillary businesses and government revenue.
“How can there be meaningful ease of living without opportunities for earning a dignified livelihood? For an unemployed graduate, a struggling artisan or a family dependent upon a distressed enterprise, productive economic activity is itself an essential component of ease of living,” it said.
Highlighting Kashmir’s traditional household-based production economy, the Federation said crafts such as Sozni embroidery, shawl making, carpet weaving, papier-mâché, handloom production and wood carving had supported generations of families.
It argued that genuinely non-polluting household enterprises should not face unnecessary permissions merely because they involved commercial production.
FCIK said its broader objective was to enable willing households across Kashmir to become small production centres, allowing women, youth and other family members to supplement their incomes while preserving traditional craftsmanship.
Questioning the effectiveness of earlier regulatory arrangements, the Federation referred to the deterioration of wetlands and water bodies, agricultural land conversion and unplanned construction despite the existence of environmental and planning laws.
“During whose administrative tenures did wetlands suffer encroachments, water bodies deteriorate, agricultural land undergo indiscriminate conversion and unplanned construction proliferate?” the Federation asked.
It said the questions were intended to highlight institutional accountability rather than assign personal blame.
FCIK also asked former administrators associated with GCC to explain what measures they had undertaken during their respective tenures to simplify procedures, eliminate redundant permissions, prevent arbitrary inspections and ensure accountability for administrative delays.
The Federation appreciated the efforts of Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo in advancing regulatory reforms aimed at introducing transparent and time-bound decision-making.
It also commended Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his government for refining the proposed reforms and facilitating their passage through the legislative process.
FCIK said Jammu and Kashmir could not afford to lose further investment opportunities because of outdated administrative practices, particularly when investors compared regions on regulatory predictability, infrastructure, incentives and administrative responsiveness.
However, the Federation emphasised that environmental protection and economic development were not mutually exclusive and called for safeguards relating to environmental, planning and safety requirements to be clearly incorporated into the rules framed under the legislation.
It urged GCC to support its concerns with specific statutory provisions, technical evidence and workable alternatives instead of making broad allegations about the possible consequences of the reforms.
“The industrial fraternity has waited decades for a system in which an entrepreneur remains answerable for violating the law but is no longer perpetually dependent upon an officer’s discretion to undertake lawful economic activity,” FCIK said.
The Federation maintained that the effectiveness of the legislation would ultimately depend on whether entrepreneurs could devote more time to production, innovation and employment generation instead of pursuing departmental clearances.
It expressed hope that the forthcoming rules would retain the legislation’s reform objectives while ensuring that necessary environmental and public safety protections remained enforceable.
(Straight Talk Communications I Inputs from KNS)
