Faridabad Inc poised to reclaim its lost glory

[dheerajjain]

Source: The Economic Times, 24th Feb
URL: http://articles.economictimes.indiatime ... lary-units

Faridabad Inc poised to reclaim its lost glory
J SRIKANT & MANSI TEWARI, ET Bureau Feb 24, 2012, 09.48AM

FARIDABAD: With New Delhi hitting a saturation point in industrial development, cities around the national capital region have shifted to top gear. While Noida and Gurgaon have taken the IT highway to growth, Faridabad - one of the first industrial towns of the country - is entering the transitional phase on the shoulders of its manufacturing prowess.


We have planned maximum promotion for industries in Faridabad in the coming years," said Rakesh Gupta, deputy commissioner, Faridabad. According to Mr Gupta, Faridabad may have lagged behind its other NCR counterparts, owing to its delay in picking up the IT trend, but the city is now tapping its core manufacturing strength to beat the competition. "At district level, we have regular formal interactions with industry associations here to discuss the state of industries. We then review the progress every two months to keep the machinery well oiled," said the district deputy commissioner. "I am happy to say that we are getting excellent support from Faridabad Industries Association, also known as FIA."

According to the district website, the combined turnover of industries in the city is approximately Rs 1,50,000 crore. "There are close to 25,000 industrial units present in the district at present, out of which 10,000 are registered," said Anil Choudhary, general manager, district industries department.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Major industries operating in Faridabad are auto ancillaries, earth moving machinery, rubber parts, printing machinery and plastic industry. Faridabad today is hub to varied profile of industries. "Faridabad is primarily a mechanical industries city. These industries have made a big contribution to the development of the city," said Mr Choudhary.

In the master plan 2011 for the district, about 7,749 acre was earmarked for industrial purposes. This roughly comes be 20 percent of the total "urbanisable" area of 38,743 acre. This area, which includes Old Faridabad, New Industrial Town (NIT) and Ballabhgarh, is home to 17,98,954 people (according to 2011 census figures). "Faridabad's traditional forte of industry is getting revitalised, with enough happening and being planned in and around Faridabad, such as Palwal and Prithla," said Anil Jindal, CMD, SRS Group, one of the biggest business houses in Faridabad with diversified interests in film exhibition, modern retail, gems & jewellery and food & beverages. SRS group also built Haryana's first mall in Faridabad.

"Before the emergence of Gurgaon-Manesar belt, mother units of most of the auto manufacturing companies were based out of Faridabad, which had helped in the growth of auto ancillary units in the district," said Mr Choudhary. "Now, although many units have moved out of Faridabad, or closed down for various reasons, auto ancillary units are still thriving here as most of the major units in Gurgaon and Manesar buy there ancillaries from Faridabad only." He added that even in earth-moving and mobile cranes, the industry here is among the best in the country. Prominent names in the industry like JCB have their units in Faridabad.

INDUSTRIAL MODEL

Understanding the potential that Faridabad has in the industrial sector and to tap into it, the administration is coming up with new initiatives, most important of which is the Industrial Model Township (IMT) in Faridabad which is being designed on the lines of IMT Manesar. Undertaken by Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), IMT Faridabad will cover an area of 1,800 acre and it will not just have industrial units but also residencies, schools, hospitals and commercial spaces. The investment figure for the project is not available as the application process is underway and final allotments are yet to be finalised by the authorities.