Suhail Khan
Jammu, Mar 28: Over three lakh livelihoods have been affected and around 5,000 registered industrial units pushed into distress following the financial crisis at the State Industries Supplies Corporation (SICOP) after the implementation of central procurement rules, the Jammu and Kashmir government informed the Legislative Assembly on Saturday.
In a written reply to CPI(M) legislator Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami, the government said the application of the General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017, in the Union Territory—mandating all public procurement through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal—had effectively dispensed with the marketing support role traditionally provided by SICOP, which was its primary source of income.
The stoppage of procurement through SICOP had not only led to a serious financial crisis for the corporation but had also directly affected the industrial unit holders associated with it, the government said.
“The MSMEs which were dependent on these units; were associated with SICOP for marketing support have been impacted,” the government said in its reply, adding that this had indirectly impacted the livelihood of more than three lakh individuals.
No grant-in-aid was being provided to SICOP to finance its salary budget and the corporation was currently running in losses, meeting its salary and wage bills from internal resources, it said.
A draft revival plan for SICOP had been formulated and was under examination, the government informed the House, adding that while no final decision had been taken, the provision of necessary financial support was being explored in the context of the corporation’s restructuring.
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