Puducherry Ease of Doing Business Bill passed in Assembly unveils landmark reforms: CM

Puducherry, Sep 18 (PTI) Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy said on Thursday that the territorial government has unveiled "landmark reforms to make doing business in Union Territory easier".

The Assembly (which had a one-day session) on Thursday passed four significant Bills, namely Puducherry Ease of Doing Business, the Puducherry Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, the Puducherry Municipalities Act (amendment) and the Village and Commune Panchayats Act (Amendment) Bill, the CM said in a release.

Claiming that today (Thursday) was a historic day in the annals of Union Territory of Puducherry, the chief minister said that passing of the four Bills was aimed at "reducing compliance burden, simplifying licensing processes and improving urban governance".

He said that the four Bills passed in the House and together with a series of notifications and amendments across multiple areas, including the Town and Country Planning, Labour, Electricity, Fire Services and Local Administration Departments and also Department of Environment "will transform Puducherry into one of the most competitive and preferred destination for investment." Rangasamy also said that "the Puducherry administration is carrying forward the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that over the past decade the country has been reforming, performing and transforming and now the time had come to move forward with even greater strength." The chief minister also said that the territorial administration was now opening a fresh chapter through the new measures envisaged under the four Bills "to ensure growth and employment, reaffirming our commitment to achieve sustainable development." He said that the Bill relating to Ease of Doing Business in Puducherry provides timelines for every stage of approval, contains provisions form deemed approval and penalties for delayed approvals. "The provisions would facilitate timely approval and clearances for industries, businesses and commercial establishments," the CM said.

He said that amendments to the Puducherry Municipalities Act and also to the Puducherry Village and Commune Panchayats Act have provisions that trade licenses issued by local bodies would now be valid for full five years and the requirement for physical inspection has been removed.

The chief minister said that the amendment to the Town and Country Planning Act removed "cumbersome and time-consuming procedures related to change in land use." He said that the validity period of fire safety No Objection Certificate (NOC) is now increased from one year to three years and fire NOCs will be automatically issued based on third party inspection and self-certification.

The Puducherry Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Act 2024 notified by the administration simplifies business commencement process for the MSMEs by granting a three-year exemption from certain approvals and inspections with entrepreneurs only submitting a declaration of intent to receive an acknowledgment certificate equivalent to "deemed approval".

Puducherry Home and Industries Minister A Namassivayam said that the reforms envisaged under the Bills would "particularly benefit MSMEs by helping them start and expand the units with confidence and minimal delay." Official sources claimed that the Lt Governor K Kailashnathan "welcomed the initiative as the reforms (through the Bills passed in the Assembly) place citizens and entrepreneurs at the centre of governance and signal a decisive move towards smarter and simpler administration." PTI COR KH