Rajasthan needs local planning: Chamber

The perception of Rajasthan being a poor and backward state is unfounded according to ML Mehta, former chief secretary Rajasthan, who was speaking at the second round table meet on "Rapid Economic Development of Rajasthan" organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in Udaipur.

He said Rajasthan was the first state to have announced a build-operate-transfer (BOT) policy on roads and was one of the two states to have made a four-fold increase in the growth rate of its agricultural products. The state in the last decade had seen more growth than other states, he added.

According to him, a proactive approach was needed to facilitate industrial growth. He felt the chambers of commerce could volunteer to act as franchisees for various functions like the collection of tax.

He emphasised that joint consultative groups of the industry and government needed to meet on a monthly basis with the chief minister, to send across the message that industry was a priority for the government.

He said it was for the government to realise that it was more fruitful to target the second rung of technocrat entrepreneurs to invest in the state.

The secretary general of the PHDCCI, B P Dhaka said that planning in Rajasthan was needed at a regional level, taking into account regional bottlenecks.

He pointed out that the export potential of vocationally trained manpower in the state was five times that of the information technology (IT) sector and the state needed to capitalise on this by focusing on training in handicrafts.

Outlining his strategy for increasing the growth rate in Rajasthan, K S Mogra, president, Udaipur Chamber of Commerce & Industry, suggested that Rajasthan needed to stress on exports of minerals and textiles, which could bring about an all round increase in GDP.

He said the government should utilise its limited resources in developing a world class model of an industrial area to attract entrepreneurs. He stressed that mere routing of the the HBJ pipeline through Udaipur could reduce raw material costs by 40 per cent and make the products of Udaipur more competitive.

The other issues that emerged in the discussion were that thrust areas needed to be outlined and concerted efforts were required to facilitate development in these areas. The need of a convention centre in Udaipur was also discussed.