Patna, Oct. 25: The state government will hold the first Udyami panchayat at the chief minister’s secretariat on October 29. Chief minister Nitish Kumar would listen to the problems of investors, industrialists and entrepreneurs.

“The Udyami panchayat will be held for the first time in the state and will be chaired by the chief minister. The same will start from 11am and the investors and industrialists among others can come and tell their problems to the chief minister. Officials of other departments would be present too and their problems too would be immediately addressed,” a senior official at the industries department told The Telegraph.

“The panchayat would be on the lines of the chief minister’s weekly janata durbar. It will be held on every fifth Monday. With the industrialists talking to the chief minister, they can hope for better days to come when it comes to the fast redressal of their problems,” the official added.

Today, Navin Verma, a 1982-batch IAS officer, who was on central deputation, has been appointed the new principal secretary of the industries department. The officer took over the charge from Afzal Amanullah. Afzal had been given the additional charge of the department in September this year.

The principal secretary of the industries department would head the second Udyami adalat at the department’s meeting hall on October 30. The first adalat was held on September 28.

Though the number of petitions from the industrialists was less than expected, a number of industrialists came down and spoke of their problems hoping for a redressal.

Most problems were related to small teething issues, which were taking a long time to get solved owing to alleged negligence on the part of the department officials.

The one-stop window, a monthly affair by the state industries department, was set to clear the grievances of entrepreneurs in the industry-starved state.

By the 15th of each month, industrialists in the state needed to inform the department about the problems they were facing.

The department had released an e-mail id, idc_bihar@yahoo.co.in, for the entrepreneurs to submit their petitions on problems such as non-availability of land or issues related to value added tax. Complaints can also be sent through post, courier or organisations such as Bihar Industries Association and Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries.