The Director of Punjab Industries, D.S. Guru, told Express Newsline that land measuring 500 acre has been earmarked in S.A.S.Nagar and 1,000 acre on the Kohara-Machiwara road, adjoining Ludhiana.

While the acquisition process has been completed in S.A.S. Nagar, the land owners in Ludhiana are being served notices under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, after it was approved by the Punjab Cabinet.

With the implementation of the scheme, allocations will be made to industrial entrepreneurs to set up small, medium and large-scale industries in the current financial year.

Ruling out any adverse effect of economic sanctions on industrialisation, Guru assured all possible help for the setting up of industries under the single window system inaugurated recently by Union minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Though the process of setting up of industries moved at a snail's pace in 1997-98, the government managed to set up 2,100 small and 30 large and medium-scale industries at a cost of Rs 650 crore.

Guru was in town to felicitate a new team of Mohali Industries' Association at its annual general meeting held at its Bhawan office last night.

Dwelling at length about the foreign direct investments (FDIs) since 1971, he said that Punjab had made inroads all over the country by inviting 53 foreign investments out of the targeted 71 in various developmental activities.

Meanwhile, the Mohali Industries' Association submitted a memorandum to Guru, seeking priority to entrepreneurs during land allocation for setting up main industrial focal points. On this, Guru assured the delegation on the maintenance of cordial relations between the government and industries. All problems being faced by the industrialist will be solved through dialogue, he said.