Capital investment claim unrealistic, says Oppn

Bhopal, Mar 6(UNI) The opposition Congress today criticised the BJP government in the Assembly for making 'unrealistic' claim about capital investment for setting up new industries in Madhya Pradesh.

Participating in the more than Rs 580 crore budgetary demands of Commerce, Industries and Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief departments, Congress member Rajendra Kumar Singh said the BJP government was making tall claims about the spurt in capital investment during the last two years, but in reality not much investment was made as industries for which memoranda of understanding(MOU) had been signed were yet to take shape.

Mr Singh said Commerce and Industries Minister Babulal Gaur was claiming that the state received proposals for investment of over Rs 50,000 crore. Majority of the proposals were yet to take off and the government claim was misleading. Many industries like textile mills and power looms had gone sick rendering several thousand people jobless, he added.

The Congress member contested the government claim that there was no overdraft in the last two years saying there was no overdraft on any states due to the revised guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India.

Finance Minister Raghavji joined him clarifying that the state did not avail the increased ways and means advance limit also.

Mr Singh said notifications relating to the new industrial policy 2004 were yet to be issued. He sought rationalisation of the tax structure as the state was going to switch over to Value Added Tax regime from April.

Mr Singh also criticised the government for 'neglecting' the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy by not intervening in the employees strike leading to closure of the super speciality hospital.

BJP member Lal Singh Arya said industrialists earlier hesitated to invest in Madhya Pradesh due to bad roads and power shortage, but things were changing. The investment climate was improved in the last two years, he claimed.

UNI SP ARB RN1700