FCIK slams procurement policy hurting local MSMEs

Srinagar, Apr 26: The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has slammed the government's procurement policy, alleging it has sidelined local manufacturers and substantially widened Jammu and Kashmir's trade deficit due to increased imports. This comes after the FCIK's Advisory Committee met with representatives of the Kashmir Electrical Manufacturers Association (KEMA) on Friday.

In a statement, the industry body regretted that despite repeated requests, authorities have failed to take steps to restore marketing support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the region. This lack of support has exacerbated joblessness in the sector, the FCIK said.

"The current procurement policy not only discourages and sidelines local industrial units but has also resulted in a substantial deficit in the Union Territory's balance of trade on account of rising imports," the statement read.

While bringing the plight of electric equipment manufacturers to the attention of FCIK, President KEMA, Raja Nayeem Ahmad Khan said that 150 such units faced marketing problems after the adoption of General Financial Rules (GFR) by the UT government in 2019 which put local units with a slew of disadvantages in direct competition with manufacturers of an entire country on Government e-marketplace (GeM) portal.

He informed that the Power Development Department had also switched over to turn-key system of executions after disbanding store procurement which had resulted in ouster of local manufacturers from schemes and programmes currently being executed by them.

According to Nayeem, the central government last year sanctioned Rs 5200 Crores under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) for J&K to improve power infrastructure including 33KV and 11KV stations/HT/LTs and other equipment after subsuming many other central schemes with an objective to reduce power losses and ensure uninterrupted power supply to consumers.

He said that disconcerting qualification criteria put by PDD in tenders excluded local units from the competition process and favoured outsiders.

Exemplifying his remarks, Raja said that one of the scores of works taken up by the department for execution happened to be an augmentation of the existing power infrastructure in the industrial estate Sanat Nagar which understandably stands allotted to a Telangana-based company.

“It is shocking to note that all 2 dozen transformers, scores of poles and other equipment installed by the agency have been procured by the contractor from Jharkhand and other states even though there are about 150 units in J&K engaged in the manufacture of these goods” informed Raja adding that 4 transformer manufacturing and 6 pole manufacturing units existed in the estate itself.