Chandigarh, October 8: Punjab has cleared more than 96 percent of its old pending industrial project cases through the FastTrack Punjab Portal, according to official data shared after Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s digital governance initiative was relaunched in May this year.
The portal, designed to provide single-window clearances for investors, has streamlined the approval process across more than 20 departments, including environment, land, and fire safety. Officials said the digital system has transformed Punjab into one of the country’s fastest states for business clearances.
In February 2025, 8,075 applications were pending beyond their timeline. That number has now fallen to just 283 — a 96 percent reduction. District-level pendency has dropped from 833 to 17 (98 percent clearance), while all 166 state-level cases have been cleared entirely.
“The government has achieved a 100 percent disposal rate for state-level cases through targeted reforms and digital transparency,” a senior Industries Department official said.
Under the reformed system, all applications are processed within 45 days. If departments fail to respond on time, the requests are automatically approved. An appeal mechanism is also available for rejected applications, while outdated submissions are closed after the due period.
Since the relaunch of the FastTrack Portal on May 29 and its formal rollout on June 10, Punjab has attracted new projects worth ₹21,700 crore — a 167 percent increase over 2024. Project applications have grown by 76 percent year-on-year to 950, while between April and September 2025 alone, 1,295 project applications were received, generating investments worth ₹29,480 crore and creating 67,672 jobs.
The portal has processed 17,006 service applications and 4,884 license requests in recent months, with 87 and 81 percent of them respectively cleared within the deadlines.
Under the Punjab Right to Business Act, 2025, projects up to ₹125 crore receive time-bound approvals — within five days for those located in industrial parks and 15–18 days for others, based on self-declaration.
In what officials call a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, the Revenue Department has also introduced an online CRO (Change of Revenue Officer) service, allowing investors to obtain land validity certificates digitally. Of the 134 applications submitted, 78 have been approved, and the rest are under review.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the portal represents a new era of efficiency and transparency. “What once took months now takes days. Punjab is setting benchmarks for digital governance and investor confidence,” he noted.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal also called the initiative “the country’s biggest business reform,” saying it has freed Punjab from bureaucratic delays and corruption.
Officials said the system’s impact goes beyond numbers, reducing administrative burden and strengthening investor trust. “Punjab’s progress now rests on speed, simplicity, and service delivery,” the Industries Department official added.
Since March 2022, Punjab has attracted 7,414 projects worth ₹1.29 lakh crore, creating nearly 4.6 lakh jobs — a figure the government says demonstrates the success of its industrial reform model.
