The Gazetteers Department

The Directorate of Industries which in the early years played an advisory and regulatory role, is now playing a more positive role in the matter of industrialisation. Consequently, the tasks of the department have progressively become both extensive in scope and diverse in function. The work of the Directorate of Industries is mainly confined to the development and progress of cottage, small-scale and large-scale industries in the State. The organisation of the Directorate of Industries can be divided into four parts, viz., (1) Head Office, (2) Regional and District Offices, (3) Institutions and (4) Statutory Boards or Corporations with which the Directorate is concerned.

The Industries Commissioner heads the Directorate of Indus-tries, He is also the Central Stores Purchasing Officer and the Controller of Weights and Measures. The division of the work in the head office is functional while in the regions it is territorial. At the regional levels, the Deputy Directors of Indus-tries are in charge. Industries Officers are the District Officers of the Directorate and under each Industries Officer, there are a number of Industries Inspectors. Being field officers, who constantly come in contact with the industrial units, they constitute a vital part of the organisation.

The regional organisation follows the pattern of revenue divisions. The Collector in each district is made the ex-officio Deputy Commissioner of Industries. He is assisted by the Industries Officer and a number of Industries Inspectors. Now the District Industries Officers are directly working under the respective Collectors and Deputy Industries Commissioners and indirectly under Regional Officers. There are Deputy Directors of Industries at Bombay, Poona and Nagpur Regional Offices and Assistant Director of Industries at Aurangabad Regional Office. These officers give technical assistance to the Collectors and bring about technical co-ordination among the District Officers under them. They act as technical advisers and pay greater attention to the developmental aspect and advise the prospective entrepreneurs in regard to the problems faced by them. The Industries Officers have to work in close collaboration with the Regional Officer in respect of common matters and functions.

Functions.

The main function of the Directorate of Industries is to foster the growth of industries in the State. For the sake of convenience, this function can be considered under the following heads-

(i) Large-scale industries.

(ii) Small-scale industries.

(iii) Cottage and village industries.

(iv) Miscellaneous.

Thus the duties of the Collectors and Deputy Industries Com-missioners, so far as small-scale industries are concerned, are - (i) to assist the parties in securing land, water, power, trans-port facilities etc.,

(ii) to develop suitable sites in industrial estates so as to offer to the small entrepreneurs ready built work-sheds with power and water arrangements and with community facilities such as post office, canteen etc., on co-operative basis in suitable areas;

(iii) to grant financial assistance by way of loans under State Aid to Industries Rules and subsidy on power consumption and to sponsor grant of such assistance in institutions like State Bank of India, Maharashtra State Financial Corporation, National Small Industries Corporation and Maharashtra State Small Industries Development Corporation for hire purchase of machinery;

(iv) to assist the parties in securing raw materials both imported and indigenous;

(v) to assist the parties in marketing products by registration with Central Stores Purchase Organisation, Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals, New Delhi, National Small Industries Corporation, New Delhi, and by pursuading them to join the Quality Marketing Scheme; and

(vi) to collect quarterly statistics of production and labour.

So far as the cottage and village industries are concerned, the functions carried out by the Directorate are-

(i) to organise training-cum-production centres;

(ii) to grant financial assistance to artisans for the formation of industrial co-operatives, and

(iii) to encourage the industries by marginal preferences in State Purchase Programmes.

Items (i) and (ii) of this work have, however, now been entrusted to the Zilla Parishads, the work remaining with the Directorate being technical inspection of centres and advice, co-ordination of training, financing etc. In addition, the Directorate also performs certain other functions such as (i) Central Purchase or Stores required by Government departments and institutions and (ii) enforcement of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1958.

Under the Act, the functions of the Deputy Director of Industries, Nagpur, whose jurisdiction extends over Chandrapur district along with other districts in the Vidarbha region, relate to the enforcement and administration of Weights and Measures Act, collection of revenue in the form of fees for verification and/or reverification and stamping of weights and measures. He is also authorised under the Bombay Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Amendment Act, 1964, to grant and/or renew licences to repairers of measuring instruments, etc., and to applicants complying with the prescribed require-ments, under intimation to the Directorate of Industries. He is designated as Deputy Controller of Weights and Measures under the Bombay Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Amendment Act, 1964. He also renders all possible assistance to the occupiers of factories with a view to obtaining statistical returns complete in all respects in good time. He also collects industrial and commercial information on a voluntary basis as and when required by the State or Union Government. He undertakes investigations in connection with cases of trade disputes with parties in the district referred to by the Indian embassies abroad or foreign embassies in India. Cases of " breaches of the provisions of the Trade and Marks Act, 1958, and/or Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, are also investigated by him. In addition, he is empowered to sanction loans under the State-Aid to Industries Rules up to a limit of Rs. 1,000 in each case, to applicants in his jurisdiction, subject to the condition that the total amount so sanctioned by him does not exceed Rs. 5,000 in any one year. His miscellaneous duties extend to investigation of applications (for industrial purposes) from parties in his jurisdiction for licence under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, for requirement of power, water, land acquisition, erection of buildings and for issue of essentiality certificate in connection with the applications for import quota for raw materials and machinery, export and purchase of controlled materials such as iron, steel and cement.

The Deputy Director of Industries, Nagpur, is assisted in his work by other subordinate staff stationed at Nagpur. So far as Chandrapur district is concerned he is assisted by an Industries Officer stationed at Chandrapur and four Industries Inspectors.

In many respects the office of this Directorate at the district level (controlled by the Industries Officer) is a part and parcel of the Collector's office. But so far as the enforcement of the Weights and Measures Act is concerned, the Industries Officer also acts as the Inspector of Weights and Measures under the Act and is empowered to pay surprise visits for the proper implementation of the Act.

Industries Inspectors.

The duties assigned to the former Inspectors of Weights and Measures under Bombay Weights and Measures Act, 1932 and the Rules thereunder are now carried out by the Industries Inspectors in addition to the duties prescribed under the Bombay Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Amendment Act, 1964 and the Rules thereunder wherever this Act is in force. The main purpose of this Act is to provide for the adoption and compulsory use of standard weights and measures in the State. No weight or measure or weighing or measuring instrument may be sold, delivered or used for trade, unless it has been verified or re-verified in the manner prescribed by the Rules made under the Act and stamped by an Inspector with a stamp of verification. Fees are fixed for verification, stamping, etc. It is the duty of the Inspectors to carry out verification and stamping and collect the fees.

Weights and Measures Acts.

The Standard of Weights and Measures Act, 1956 has established the standard weights and measures based on the metric system. The change over to the metric system, which was spread over ten years, has now been completely implemented in the State. The Government of Maharashtra have enacted the complementary legislation, viz., Bombay Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Amendment Act, 1964 and have framed necessary rules thereunder.

The metric system of weights was introduced in the municipal areas of the district from October, 1959, with a transitional period of two years for continued use of existing weights side by side with metric weights. The use of metric weights was thus made compulsory in the municipal areas of the district from October 1, 1961. The system was also extended to the remaining areas of the district from April 1, 1960 with a transitional period of two years for the use of existing weights.

Collection of Statistics,

The Industries Inspectors have to carry out duties in connection with the collection of statistics from scheduled industries coming under first Schedule of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 employing 10 to 49 workers. The Government of India have delegated to them the powers for collecting quarterly production statistics from such units under Industrial Undertakings (Collection of Information and Statistics) Rules, 1959. The units are required to furnish quarterly statistical returns in the prescribed pro forma. The Inspectors have to ensure that the factories concerned maintain proper accounts and registers and have to render assistance in completing the returns. They have also to attend to the work connected with the conduct of ad hoc surveys of various small scale industries at the instance of the State and Central Governments. Besides they have to carry out duties in connection with the registration of small-scale industrial undertakings in order to have a correct picture of various small scale industries in the State.

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