The industrialists alleged that while UT Administrator General S F Rodrigues (Retd) had categorically assured them on July 6 that the policy would be notified by July 21, the notification was a month late and that too without the “essential elements”.

Calling the new industrial policy a ‘waste paper’, the industrialists also took a dig at UT Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar for not redressing their “genuine” demands. (See box)

“When General Rodrigues assured us, Secretary (Industries) Ram Niwas agreed to consider our long-pending grievances. The draft policy did contain a breather us. But the finance department pitched in all of a sudden and everything was eliminated from the final policy,” said an industrialist at a press conference on Tuesday.

They also alleged that the policy was framed to favour a few chosen ones.

“The draft policy was prepared after detailed deliberations with all sections of the industry. Yet, vital points were deleted from the final policy,” said Vinod Mittal, president, Chamber of Chandigarh Industries (CCI).

“The Administration is sending notices of misuse of premises to industrialists who have been running their business from the same place for the last three decades. The Administration has suddenly woken up to the misuse,” added Naveen Miglani, convener, CCI.

“Ram Niwas and Director Industries Vandana Disodia, who are the apex authorities in the matters relating to industry, have at all forums fully agreed to and supported our points and included them in the draft industrial policy. At whose behest and under what pressures these issues are now being dropped from the final policy?” asked an agitated industrialist.

He announced that they would refuse to accept such an “arbitrary” policy that “does not redress our decades old grievances”.