Industries minister Shyam Rajak says single-window system for industry clearance would be ready within two months but department principal secretary Tripurari Sharan said rebuilding the system could take around six months.

Sharan accepted the system was in a shambles. "The single-window system exists in principle here. But the same is not effective enough. Things can only get back on track if all departments coordinate and follow a time-bound approval practice," he told The Telegraph.

He added that there was lack of coordination between the various departments, resulting in the system "not working as it should".

The state had tabled the Bihar Single Window Clearance Act - considered an important need for an industry to strive and develop - in 2006, but was never able to keep it running smoothly and in order.

Industrialists in the state have for years been demanding proper implementation of the system and demands for the same have come from investors from outside the state and country too.

Absence of an effective single-window system is a reason why Bihar has not seen any major big-ticket investment.

But Rajak repeated that all was well in the industries sector. "A lot of work is taking place in the industries sector and things are moving smoothly. As far as the single-window system is concerned, work regarding reconstruction of the system has been given to the DFID (department for international development), now called UKaid. They are working towards the same and the system will be fully functional within two months," Rajak told The Telegraph.

But Sharan disagreed with the timeframe the minister had set for the system to be fully functional.

"Work is on for sure and UKaid has given us a preliminary presentation too. But reconstruction of the whole system will take more time, around six months. One must add here that once the system is ready, all approvals needed to set up an industry will be done online and in a time-bound manner. The investor will definitely not have to run around. The department is working towards the same," Sharan said.

An industrialist in the state agreed that the sector's growth depended on the single-window clearance system.

"This does not hold true for just Bihar. Any state that sees a major and steady flow of investments has a concrete, single-window system in place. No investor will want to run from one table to the other for different clearances," the industrialist said on condition of anonymity.

He further said: "Some time back, at the first meeting of the newly formed Indo-US Chamber of Commerce in Patna, some investors from abroad only wanted to know about the status of the single-window clearance system in Bihar. At the many expos and trade fairs the state participates in India or abroad, the one thing on everybody's lip is single-window system and its functioning. It is strange that even after nine years, the state government has failed to keep the system running. This shows the lack of willpower and coordination."

Sharan meanwhile said the department was also concentrating on the 98 parameters announced by the Centre regarding ease of doing business in the country.

"The department is making a report on each of the parameters announced which will help the department attract business," he said.