Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has shown that, ultimately, every project in the country can be derailed, no matter who is in favour of it. One would have thought the rail coach factory in Rae Bareilly would face no problem at all given it was in the constituency of the most powerful person in the country — the foundation stone for the project was to be laid by both Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Yet, Mayawati went ahead and simply cancelled the allotment of 400 acres of land for this project. This is precisely the same thing that happened with the Nano project which was being favoured by the CPI(M) government in West Bengal.
Unless a way is found to ensure that industrial projects are not held ransom to each and every politician the country has, investment rates are certain to fall.
Preeti Chopra, Mumbai