Institutional Improvements and Reforms

i. Ease of Doing Business: for self-employed household enterprises should be a priority for the local administration. Almost 85% of people are employed and sustained by them. That could be achieved through a series of measures:
a. Regularizing/ allowing working from home and residential areas with suitable caveats of size. Establishing a committee comprising of experts with suitable flexibility in rules to prioritize and resolve unauthorized constructions through a pragmatic compounding scheme.
b. Below a threshold, people working from home should not be levied House Tax at par with Commercial enterprises {Shops/ industries)
c. Similarly, they should not be charged Electricity & Water tariff at par with Commercial entities.
d. The administration also has to come out with a policy for Street Vendors and earmarking spaces for them.

ii. Municipal Corporation: Waterlogging and clogged drainage systems are a persistent problem in urban and industrial areas. They can spread diseases, cause traffic congestion, damage property, and reduce economic activity. Addressing this issue requires recognizing the severity of the problem and prioritizing its solutions.

iii. Meerut Development Authority: Needs of business and industry in terms of industrial/ commercial space are not static and they change with time. The current regulatory dispensation is frozen in time. A transparent time mechanism needs to be evolved to dispose of pending cases in time. Secondly, the task should not be treated as a revenue generating activity by MDA but as the role of facilitator for creation and sustenance of employment. The Master plan should not be seen as freezed but much like the new Foreign Trade Policy, is made dynamic allowing flexibility to accommodate emerging needs. For industries, 10% of the area should be allowed to constructed as per emerging needs on an approved map without seeking fresh approval.

iv. Industrial Infrastructure: It requires urgent attention of the administration. A run-down infrastructure does not only create a poor impression on existing and potential investors, it is a cause of serious pollution and accidents. Firstly, trade & industry associations of the respective areas should be vested the responsibility of upkeep and maintenance of their industrial area. The Partapur Industrial Area model could be immediately replicated in all other industrial areas. Secondly, an interface needs to be developed for joining the national projects with existing infrastructure of the districts.

v. Education: The role of education in the economic growth is highly understated. As the study notes, the human resources and labour (participation and relocation to higher skilled jobs) can add more than 2% to GDP of the District. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 provides a blue print how human resources could be equipped with technical and life-skills to be self-employed or employed elsewhere. Schools and Colleges need to be sensitized towards the expectations of NEP 2020 and capacitated with participation of civil society institutions and associations. For implementing NEP in secondary education, a resource center could be established in the district in participation of schools, MP/ MLAs, District administration and civil society institutions working in the field.

vi. District Industry Center: It needs to be the fulcrum for coordinating the development agenda of the different industrial and service sectors along with associations. The DIC may be provided adequate resources for holding regular meetings to develop detailed sector wise plans.

vii. Law and Order: There are two aspects here- Policing and Judiciary.

a. Participation of women in UP and more so in Meerut is among the lowest in the country. This straightway drags down GDP. One of the chief reasons is lack of trust on safety of women in the street. With civil society institutions and associations of trade and industry campaigns need to be run to create needed trust. A higher women participation in labour force is the lowest hanging fruit to push GDP upward.
b. As if the continental distance between Meerut and Allahabad High Court was not a deterrent enough in access to speedy justice (almost 800 Km), the Meerut courts have self-imposed brakes on themselves. There is an urgent need to increase working days of the Courts, provide sufficient hard and soft infrastructure to Courts, Enable Courts to function digitally and produce a cause list; and, to increase the number of Judges employing criteria of number of cases. (Refer Annexure 2: Meerut District Judiciary: Critical role in Economic wellbeing).

vii. Fire Department: Balancing pragmatism with unwavering commitment to saving lives is crucial for the Fire Department, particularly in dealing with older industries facing new Fire Licensing Policies. These industries present challenges like low structures and limited space, making strict compliance difficult. Approving low-height constructions, accepting narrower aisles, and establishing common water tanks in industrial areas offer practical solutions without compromising safety. Reintroducing utility certificates for fire equipment further aids older industries. Striking this balance ensures the protection of lives while sustaining the economic viability of these long-established businesses. (Refer Annexure 1: Suggestions for Fire Licensing Policy)