After Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh to tweak labour laws
Madhya Pradesh will soon amend its labour laws and rationalise land management rules to make them more investor friendly, becoming the second BJP-ruled state after Rajasthan that plans to do so.
"We will relax and tweak some labour laws and rules pertaining to land management to prepare a more conducive atmosphere for investors in the state. While the union government has already acknowledged our labour laws to be the best in the country, we would like to make them more appealing to the investors," said Yashodhara Raje Scindia, Madhya Pradesh's industries minister.
These changes are likely to be announced following the state's high profile 'Global Investment Summit', which is scheduled to be held in Indore next month. Scindia added that MP will also announce a policy for promoting defence manufacturing, a first for any state, at the event.
In early June, the Rajasthan state cabinet cleared 20 amendments to four labour laws - Industrial Disputes Act, Factories Act, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act and Apprenticeship Act — in order to make it easy to hire and fire workers, close and open industries, among other things.
In early August, the state also floated the draft of an amended Land Acquisition Act. Senior MP government officials said the state's changes will be less radical than Rajasthan's, but will be of consequence to investors.
"In the central acts, there are some provisions which states can amend and adapt as per their own requirements. For instance, specific changes to the Boiler's Act could be done for exempting thousands of small and medium industries in the state from the Act's provisions. We are looking at such small but key changes to other laws which could ease matters for investors and industry," said a senior official from the Chief Minister's Office. While central labour laws can be amended only by Parliament, those which are in the 'concurrent' list can be amended at the state level.
After the state assembly and Cabinet clear it, the amendments are sent to the governor who sends it for presidential assent. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was guarded in his comments. "We wish to promote entrepreneurship in the state, and to this end schemes for small and medium enterprises have been promoted extensively. However, now we are looking at inviting large investments, and will facilitate them through several measures. While doing this, we want to ensure a balanced approach while catering to the interests of investors and workers as well," he said. The Narendra Modi government recently approved amendments to some labour laws. While the amendments to the Apprentice Act have been passed by the Lok Sabha and now await Rajya Sabha approval, the Factories Act of 1948 and the Labour Laws (exemption from furnishing returns and maintaining registers by certain establishments) Act of 1988 have been introduced in Parliament. Narendra Tomar, the labour minister at the centre, who hails from Madhya Pradesh is piloting these bills.
