Won’t tolerate delays in NOCs to investors: CM

CHief government minister Siddaramaiah on fri warned officials against delays in granting clearances to investors, locution that they testament non be tolerated.Chairing a high-level meeting on investment facilitation at Vidhana Soudha, he directed all departments to create a more business-friendly environment by reducing approval timelines and expediting clearances across sectors.“We must further improve Karnataka’s investor-friendly ecosystem,” the chief minister said. “No department should cause unnecessary delay in issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) or approving projects. A detailed proposal must be submitted to shorten the time frame for all approvals, including land-use conversion.”He said that bottlenecks in the approval process, especially from the State Pollution Control Board and the fire department, were holding back projects. “Both these departments must speed up their approval processes. If rules are causing delays, we will amend them,” he said, adding that the time limit for each department to issue approvals should be clearly redefined. “Strict action will be taken against officials who fail to meet the deadlines,” he warned.Siddaramaiah added that all concerned departments must work together to ensure that companies receive essential infrastructure like roads, water, and electricity. “The government’s priority is to ensure that investors find Karnataka a smooth and efficient place to set up operations,” he said.Highlighting the progress made since the Global Investors Meet held earlier this year, the chief minister said, “Karnataka has attracted investments worth ₹10.27 lakh crore, and 60% of those have already moved into the implementation stage. Another ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of proposals are at various stages of approval.”He also cautioned officials against citing legal or procedural hurdles as an excuse for inaction. “Don’t sit idle using the Supreme Court as an excuse,” Siddaramaiah said. “The same Supreme Court exists for our neighbouring states too. If other states can find solutions, so can we.”State minister for IT-BT, rural development and panchayat raj Priyank Kharge, who was present at the meeting, stressed the need to speed up industrial approvals. “The workforce in Karnataka is growing, and we have a large pool of skilled labour. This is increasing job creation, but the approval process must move faster,” he said.Kharge also drew a comparison with neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which has 51 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) contributing 8.9% to its economy. “Karnataka has only 37 SEZs, yet our contribution is 8.2%, which is significant. Unfortunately, many officials fail to recognise this advantage,” he noted.The chief minister directed the chief secretary Dr. Shalini Rajneesh to issue instructions to all departments to ensure timely action and prevent bureaucratic delays. He also acknowledged complaints about delays in the single-window clearance system. “All 29 services currently outside the single-window mechanism must be brought under it. Every application should be processed through a unified platform,” he said. Concluding the meeting, he reiterated his message to the bureaucracy: “Officials who fail to implement decisions on time will face strict action. Our goal is to make Karnataka a benchmark state for ease of doing business