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Madhya Pradesh's investor meets fail to make impact

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Shashikant Trivedi New Delhi/ Bhopal

Before Madhya Pradesh gears for another gala show to hawk and showcase its resources before investors at Khajuraho this October, it wants to clean its image. Of the total 332 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) of Rs 4.7 lakh crore investment proposals signed by state agency Trade and Facilitation Corporation (Trifac), 32 in manufacturing sector and food processing sector worth Rs 32,369 crore have been terminated.

As many as 17 more for Rs 4,415 crore are likely to face cancellation. Trifac has charted out a list to serve notices to cancel the deal which it had signed at various investors’ meets.

 

The chief minister and senior government officials have reasoned that investors are not serious in implementing their projects, but none has a proper answer as to why did they sign deals with non-serious businessmen. At occasions, they have also admitted that there is a flaw at delivery point. Among industries, “Single Table” concept floated by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan four years ago is still Greek to many. Most of the investors, on the other hand, are tight-lipped but say there is always an inordinate delay at the facilitation window.

“We have to get it cancelled as there was no allotment of proper area of land for our project. But we are working on other project of ferro alloy at Jhabua, and will start production next month,” Manish Shahra, executive director of Anik Industries, said. The company had signed a deal with state government for setting up a high-tech marble granite processing project in Narsinghpur with an investment of Rs 200 crore.

A similar answer came from Sushil Jalan, whose Kolkata-based company Meghalaya Cements wanted to set up a one-million tonne steel plant and 600 Mw captive power plant with an investment of Rs 4,500 crore, “There were hurdles at facilitation, particularly with land related matters,” he said.

But investors are also not responding to Trifac correspondences. “In many cases investors do not respond to our notices or letters. They come up without any preparation, or proper documentation, if they have any problem at any level they must speak to us but they do not even respond. We are terminating deals with non-serious investors at regular basis,” Anil Jain, managing director of Trifac said.

If sources in industries are believed, the then chief minister Babulal Gaur signed MoUs with various US and UK based companies, which never existed. The companies which have been served notices are in cement, ginning, glass manufacturing, sponge iron coke-oven sectors. Mining, cement and power sector are main areas which needs proper attention, yet Trifac is not empowered to deal with power sector MoUs.

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First Published: Aug 12 2010 | 12:01 AM IST

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