Ease of Doing Business in J&K: CM Omar sets targets for time-bound  implementation

JAMMU: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today chaired a high-level meeting at the Civil Secretariat to review the progress on Compliance Reduction and Deregulation under the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) framework aimed at making the regulatory environment more conducive for businesses.

Chief Minister reiterated Government’s commitment to fostering a business-friendly environment and streamlining regulatory frameworks across various sectors.

The meeting was convened as part of the national initiative led by the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, in collaboration with key institutions including the PMO, NITI Aayog, DPIIT, and the Ministry of MSME.

The initiative focuses on eliminating redundant regulations, reducing compliance burdens—particularly for MSMEs—promoting digitization and single-window clearances, and decriminalizing business laws wherever necessary.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Principal Secretary Home, Principal Secretary PDD, Commissioner Secretary Industries and Administrative Secretaries of Housing & Urban Development, Forest, Rural Development, Public Works, Labour & Employment, Food Civil Supplies and Law Departments. Officers from Srinagar participated in the meeting via video conferencing.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah instructed all officers to break down the identified action plans—most of which have timelines of five to six months—into smaller, achievable deliverables on a fortnightly basis.
He emphasized the need to track progress closely and examine reasons for any delays.

He further directed that finalized action plans be promptly uploaded on the MIS portal and that implementation should begin without delay.

Stressing the importance of accountability, the Chief Minister laid down a review mechanism under which progress of reforms will be evaluated every two months.
Earlier, Commissioner Secretary Industries & Commerce Vikramjit Singh briefed the meeting on the efforts of the J&K State Task Force, headed by the Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India.
The Task Force has identified 23 priority areas covering land use, labour reforms, building regulations, utility permissions, and broader governance practices.

He noted that action plans for each area have been developed in coordination with the concerned departments and include clear timelines and reform measures.
Key areas discussed during the meeting included the introduction of flexible zoning frameworks to allow mixed-use development, simplification and digitization of the land use change (CLU) process, fire service department clearances and rationalization of road width norms for rural industries along with updated building bylaws aimed at minimizing land loss.

The meeting also deliberated on GIS mapping of industrial estates and their integration with the India Industrial Land Bank (IILB), labour reforms enabling night-time employment of women and raising worker thresholds, decriminalization of minor violations, and simplification of licensing procedures. Additionally, the integration of water and electricity services under the single-window system and the full linkage of J&K’s Single Window Portal with the National Single Window System (NSWS) were discussed in detail.
The Chief Minister stressed on adopting a proactive approach and reiterated the importance of uploading approved action plans on the MIS portal.

He underscored the need for continuous monitoring and periodic reviews to ensure timely and effective implementation of the reforms.