Mumbai: Despite implementing various measures for improving the ease of doing business, Maharashtra secured the sixth position on the index of Business Reforms Action Plan. The state is ranked below Haryana, Telangana and West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka with a score of 33.60 per cent. It lagged behind the other states because it fared poorly on a key parameter — it failed to provide a single-window online system for starting a business. However, the state government said that by the end of the month, a Maharashtra would have better ranking in the index.
The Business Reforms Action Plan is the initiative of the Centre’s Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion (DIPP) which compares all the states on various parameters. The states have been given a deadline till October 31 to submit their progress over ease of doing business.
According to the DIPP report, Maharashtra has implemented 123 reforms in the year for improving the ease of doing business but 249 reforms still remain. Besides lagging behind in making available a single window system to open a business, it also lacks the following parameters, “Mandate online filing of single integrated return and applicable payments under all labour laws; eliminate the requirement of inspection prior to registration under the Shops and Establishment Act and ensure that the registration is granted within one day from the date of application; publish information about the procedure and comprehensive list of documents on the department’s website; design and implement a system that allows online application submission, payment, tracking and monitoring without the need for a physical touch point for document submission and verification and mandate that all applications are submitted online.”
When The Asian Age contacted chief minister Devendra Fadnavis through a text message, he did not reply. However, an official from the Industries department, who does not wish to be named, said the state still has some scope to improve its ranking.
“The Centre has given us a October 31 deadline to submit our initiatives under the ease of doing business. It is true that the single window system is lacking in the state, but our efforts are to have the system soon,” he said.
