Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday demanded the government to allocate land for the establishment of Cottage City, besides introducing viable tax policy for cottage industry as it was not only a building block of economy but also of utmost importance for alleviation of poverty and unemployment.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar, Senior Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood and Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt put forth these demands while talking to a delegation of All Pakistan Cottage Industry led by its Chairman Ghulam Sarwar Malik. The representatives of over 50 associations were also present on the occasion.
The LCCI office-bearers said that the economic revival of the country would remain a dream until and unless the government redesigned its policies and divert resources towards cottage industry. They said that early establishment of a well-equipped cottage city on the pattern of industrial zones in the country should be made part of the economic agenda of the government.
They cited that Bangladesh, China, Korea and United States were giving an equal importance to the small business and treating these at par with large scale manufacturing sector.
The LCCI office-bearers mentioned that the cottage and small-scale industries were labour intensive and were providing employment to 80 percent of the industrial labour force. This reduced the unemployment and offered opportunities for self-employment. They said that cottage industry also met the local demands for industrial goods, and save foreign exchange. They said that the government should also give formally the status of industry to the cottage sector.
On this occasion, Chairman All Pakistan Cottage Industry Ghulam Sarwar Malik sought the help of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the revival of cottage industry.—APP
