Ziraat Times News Desk
Srinagar: Industrial associations across the Kashmir Valley have strongly condemned the recent wave of legal notices issued by the Regional Director (Kashmir) of the J&K Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) to a large number of industrial units for alleged non-compliance related to obtaining or renewing ‘Consent to Establish’ and ‘Consent to Operate’ from the regulator.
According to Syed Fazal Illahi, President of the Kashmir Small Scale Industrial Association (Baghi Ali Mardan Khan), these notices have been indiscriminately served to a majority of enterprises in their industrial estate, triggering panic among entrepreneurs.
“The language and tone of the notices are deeply disturbing and violate basic legal principles,” said Fazal Illahi, pointing out that units have been directly declared as “operating illegally” without any opportunity to respond or present their case.
He said that this approach presumes guilt, denies the right to be heard, and shows a troubling disregard for due process of law.
“ It is astonishing that copies of these notices have been marked to the General Manager, District Industries Centre (DIC) Srinagar, with directions to de-register the units — all before any formal hearing or response has been allowed”, he said, adding that the action is blatant violation of natural justice and procedural fairness. Similar complaints have come from other associations in various districts.
Valley’s apex industrial body, the Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), has taken strong exception to what it describes as the JKPCC’s pre-emptive and disproportionate enforcement.
Assessing the Regional Director’s actions, FCIK President Shahid Kamili stated that the JKPCC has prematurely treated preliminary observations as final findings, which is both inappropriate and unjustified.
Recognizing the gravity of the issue, an FCIK delegation led by Shahid Kamili met with Forest Minister Javed Ahmad Rana to discuss what they described as a heavy-handed regulatory approach that instills fear instead of fostering cooperation.
The delegation told the Minister that the JKPCC has ignored standard regulatory practice by skipping advisories and warnings, and instead went straight to threats of prosecution, penalties, and closure—even for minor or first-time lapses.
The delegation also pointed out that the notices lack inspection reports, evidence, or verifiable documentation—denying units a fair chance to respond or contest the claims. Despite this the attempted involvement of DIC’s in de-registering the units amounts to jurisdictional overreach.
FCIK regretted that such actions severely undermine the government’s own push for MSME promotion and ease of doing business in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Rather than fostering a supportive industrial climate, these arbitrary measures erode investor confidence and breed distrust between the business community and regulatory institutions.”, the delegation added.
In response, the Minister assured the FCIK delegation that no industrial unit would be unfairly harmed. He agreed to convene a high-level meeting with FCIK participation to address all concerns arising from JKPCC actions related to all manufacturing and service sector units.
The Minister further assured that no stringent action would be taken on the issued notices until the matter is resolved amicably.
FCIK assured the Minister of its commitment to environmental compliance and responsible industrial growth, while firmly rejecting coercive regulation that ignores due process.
“We’re ready to cooperate for sustainable development,” the delegation said, “but will not accept arbitrary actions, intimidation, or procedural abuse against our industrial community.”
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