The State government on Friday issued a notification declaring 40 areas under the Industries department as industrial estates. The status has been given to areas with a high concentration of industrial enterprises.
Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said that single window clearance boards have also been set up to facilitate the process of starting enterprises on these estates.
Among the newly notified industrial estates are Edayar in Ernakulam district, Puzhakkal Paadam in Thrissur, Kanjikode in Palakkad, Aroor in Alappuzha and Veli in Thiruvananthapuram.
Provision has been made for expeditious issuance of various types of licences, clearances and certificates for starting enterprises. For this, clearance boards have been formed at the estate level.
The clearance board consists of district-level officers of various departments, including the District Collector, District Industries Centre general manager, Pollution Control Board, Town and Village Planning department, Factories and Boilers department and the Labour department.
The smallest industrial estate is Muttam, extending over 5 acres in Idukki district. Kanjikode in Palakkad district with an area of 532.8 acres is the largest.
Edayar in Ernakulam district is second biggest at 435.29 acres. Ernakulam and Thrissur districts have six industrial estates each while Palakkad has five and Kasargod has four. Kottayam has three industrial estates, while Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kollam have two each and Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Malappuram and Kannur have one each. About 2,500 enterprises are currently functioning on various estates.