Rs 72,000 crore investments in UP; no threat on projects due to poll

Lucknow, July 28 (UNI) Announcing that the state has received a record investment proposals worth over Rs 72,091 crore, Uttar Pradesh Development Council (UPDC) chairman Amar Singh today ruled out any threat to any entrepreneur's project even if change in the political set up after the assembly polls slated early next year.

'' Government is a continuous process and the political parties come and go but policies remain in place'', he said in his inaugural address of the two-day seminar on Strengthening of Food-Processing and Marketing Facilities in UP.

Mr Singh claimed that the present Samajwadi Party government had not dropped or changed any policy or projects initiated by the previous Rajnath Singh or Mayawati governments.

Assuring the entrepreneurs that their projects would not be shelved even if there was a change in the government after the assembly polls, he said till May 2006 a total Rs 72,091 crore investment proposals had been received which was quite an achievement for the Samajwadi Party-led government in the state.

The SP general secretary made it clear that all the projects and policies of the previous governments were taken up by the SP government except for the Taj Expressway project which has been obstructed due to non-clearance by the Environment ministry and some other hitches.

Lambasting the media for giving a negative publicity to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, he said a section of the media were only busy in putting a road blockade to the developmental approach of the government. He also mentioned that the state information department, the publicity tool of the state government, was also lacking in circulating the positives of the government.

Giving example of the Tata's, Mr Singh said whereas they received wide publicity by just announcing to set up the small car unit in West Bengal but their Rs 400 crore investment in UP went unnoticed.

He said that this seminar would prepare a road map for the petential of food processing units in the state by focussing in the raw materials.

UPDC chairman also took strong exception to the entry of international giants Kargil and ITC in the sector of food processing and purchasing foodgrains from the state.'' The state would be happy if small entrepreneurs enter the sector as it would create competition and the farmers would get good price of their produce'', he said adding that big industrial houses would only try to create monopoly in the sector.

State transport minister Naresh Agarwal in his speech said that food processing units was a need to save the farmers from making distress selling of their produce.

He also stressed the need for organic farming in the state in order to competite in the international market when the interest of the farmers were going down due to low yeild of their produce.

State Industrial Development Commissioner (IDC) Atul Kumar Gupta in his welcome address said over Rs 1200 crore investments had been received in the food processing sector alone. He also announced to open a 'Food Park' in the state.

State Agriculture development commissioner Anees Ansari and minister of state for horticulture Raj Kishore Singh were also present on the occasion.

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