Plan to bring down red tape, industrialise Gujarat at a faster pace: Rupani

I am confident that all our efforts and with Modi at the Centre, we will win all the 26 seats in Gujarat, says Rupani

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is gearing up for the next edition of Vibrant Gujarat. Talking about good governance and development in the state, Rupani tells Dev Chatterjee about his faith on the small businessmen, his confidence in the party of winning all the seats in the 2019 elections, and his plans of rapid industrialisation in the state. Edited excerpts:

The Maharashtra government has just announced a reservation for Marathas in the state. Considering Gujarat is witnessing a similar agitation by the Patel community, how do you react to Maharashtra's move? Will you consider a similar reservation for Patels before 2019 elections? 

There is a Supreme Court (SC) judgment on reservations. We have to study how the Maharashtra government has given the reservation when the SC and the Constitution is clear that total reservation cannot exceed 50 per cent of the government jobs. In Gujarat, Patels don’t want reservation in the other backward caste (OBC) category and neither do we want to disturb the category. So we have to study how the Maharashtra government will implement its decision and take it forward accordingly. 

With the General Elections in 2019, how does the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plan to bring the small businessmen under its fold – considering many of them had complained that the Goods and Service Tax (GST) had hit their margins.

Gujarat is well known for its small businesses and the businessmen are happy with the GST roll out. Soon after it was implemented, Gujarat was the first state to go for elections. And we came back to power in all seats in the cities. It was the industry that wanted the GST as they had to deal with multiple departments earlier. Now post implementation, all administration hurdles have been removed. 

How confident are you of winning in 2019 considering your seat share in Gujarat has come down in last year’s assembly elections? Is your work enough to win seats next year? 

We have come a long way since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2001, and Vibrant Gujarat summit was initiated in 2003. We are now a developed state with robust infrastructure, dynamic policies and efficient government machinery. We have become one of the global hotspots for new investments. Rapid industrialisation has led to the emergence of the Gujarat model of development. Modi changed the political discourse through this development and today you see majority of the elections being fought on the agenda of development. This is in stark contrast to the elections a decade ago, when divisive politics had taken centre-stage. 

Our government was formed on the mantra of good governance and development. We have never digressed from that. When people vote for us, they vote for good governance and development. We have always believed in inclusive politics with the motto “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,” and do not get into “vote bank politics”. 

I am confident that all our efforts and with Modi at the Centre, we will win all the 26 seats in Gujarat.

Your government announces MoUs (memorandum of understanding) worth millions of dollars with companies after each Vibrant Gujarat. How much of this actually translates into investment on the ground?  

The figures of MoUs after every Vibrant Gujarat actually comprises of the intention of investment in a particular sector by a company. For example, last time, 24,000 companies signed MoUs with us. But the actual implementation takes time. It is akin to buying a house worth millions where you go around looking for many projects and take a loan and by the time you take possession, some seven to eight months have already passed. Similarly, in business, when companies commit investments worth Rs 10-50 billion and even 100 billion, they take time in doing so. Post MoUs, it takes a minimum of five years for the business proposal to get implemented. Next year will be the ninth edition of Vibrant Gujarat summit. As per our calculation, an average 65 per cent of proposals made so far have been implemented. At times, sectors go into crisis due to external reasons, so proposals get stuck. Then it becomes our responsibility to make sure we bring these companies back on track without any delay. 

For instance, in the power sector, we signed MoUs with many companies but there were no takers as states were not signing power purchase agreements and Indonesia changed its coal tax policy. In 2001, there was an earthquake in Kutch and everything was flattened in that area. Everyone thought, Kutch story was over. However, since 2005, many companies have set up their units in Kutch. Adani started his power project in Mundra. Similarly, Sanand was nothing but now Suzuki produces 500,000 cars a year from there. Many auto auxiliary companies have come up there and now it is the auto hub of India. Dahej was another under developed area but now it has become a petrochem hub. 

Our plan now is to develop Dholera region in the same way. We are inviting companies to set up shop there. I met Tata Chemicals officials who want to set up a plant to manufacture Lithium batteries for cars. We have already invested Rs 30 billion in Dholera in making the basic infrastructure like water, infrastructure etc available.

What is your view on Gift City? Do you think it has taken off in becoming the next financial centre of India? 

Many banks and finance companies including State Bank of India, insurance companies, stock brokers have already set up shop there. We have created a world class infrastructure in Gift City. We want the IT sector to invest there and are also encouraging units to come up in the Special Economic Zone. As far as the share of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services in Gift City is concerned, the state government will buy out its stake. An in-principal decision has already been taken regarding that. 

Your government moved SC to give special package to Adani Power, Essar Power and Tata Power? What was the need to help these companies? 

After the power purchase agreements was signed by many power companies, the external environment itself changed. One fine morning, Indonesia changed its tax policies towards coal exports and raised tariff. This resulted in many power companies becoming unviable in India. This, in turn, impacted the banking sector as these projects became non-performing assets. Ultimately, it was a loss to the nation. Gujarat became pro-active on this matter and under the guidance of the apex court, we set up a committee and came out with a solution. This should be followed in all the sectors where the companies or the industry are making losses due to external reasons. 

What is making investors to look at Gujarat? 

The law and order situation in Gujarat has remained peaceful over the years and there are no industrial strikes. The state government is transparent and there is a single window system for all investors. In fact, 50 Japanese companies are already operating in Gujarat. Jetro – the Japanese government industrial promoter body – has opened an office in Gujarat and all the Japanese companies are routing their investments via them. So our plan is to bring down the red tape and industrialise fast.