The three day gathering of the entire media and entertainment wing of the industry came to an end today in the city of Mumbai, but there was one particular session during the day that was attended by some of the biggest industry folks to see whether the state of Maharashtra could become the global destination for media and entertainment.
On the panel were, Prime Focus founder, executive chairman and global CEO Namit Malhotra; Govt. of Maharashtra, principal secretary – industries, Apurva Chandra and Govt. of Maharashtra, secretary – tourism and culture, Valsa Nair Singh.
Among the wide ranging topics that were discussed, the demand for single window clearance for the film sector was the burning issue and there was some relief on that end as the newly appointed state government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is looking into it with intent.
Government of Maharashtra Tourism & Culture secretary Valsa Nair Singh addressed the gathering that the process for single window clearance has begun. “The problem is that no one is aware how many clearances are needed to be able to produce a movie in Maharashtra. While someone says 70, others say 60 or 50. It has been a month and I too have not managed to come to a conclusion, even after collecting all the data regarding clearances that are currently needed,” she informed.
The government, after collecting the required data, will start analysing the clearances which are actually needed. “I am sure almost half of it would either be repetitive or redundant. We will then see how many of the clearances can be clubbed. We will also appoint a nodal officer, who would be handling everything, thus ensuring that the producer doesn’t have to go to each department,” Singh added.
The single window clearance has been set in motion, said Singh adding that the Chief Minister who had attended the Pune Film Festival had also suggested that the procedure will be in place before the next film festival.
Considering that the film industry contributed almost Rs 50 billion to the GDP in 2013 and an employment of 7.75 lakhs in just one year, the Maharashtra government is looking at ensuring that more films are shot in the state.
Singh raised concerns over the multiple authority clearance, which according to her leads to red tapism. “We want to do away with red tapism and roll out the red carpet, this is the intention of the Maharashtra government,” stressed an intent Singh.
The Maharashtra government also wants to create awareness about the locations in the state, which can be used for shooting. “We would be doing it through a ready reckoner for locations. It will have the photographs, the connectivity, the location and the helpline numbers for the location. We will be compiling everything and uploading the same on the website,” she enlightened the gathering.
Singh also agreed that the industry needed to be incentivised. “The more movies that are shot here, the government stands to benefit and that will happen with incentives. We would like to take it up soon. The M&E has so far not got its due and we will work towards achieving that,” she concluded.