Apex trade body wants Uttarakhand govt to form panel for utilising investments

An apex trade association has suggested that the Uttarakhand government form a high-power committee so that Rs 2 lakh crore of investments the state has received in the past five years could be used in setting up industries.

“Half of this investment is lying unused…Almost the same is the case with the remaining amount,” said DS Rawat, secretary general of Assocham (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India).

“Investors find it difficult to invest those funds in units they are setting up in the state owing to various hurdles,” Rawat told reporters here on Saturday.

“We have urged the chief minister to set up a high-power committee so that investments could be used in setting up industries.”

Rawat said a study by Assocham revealed that bureaucratic red tape was one of the hurdles coming in the way of a smooth utilisation of investments. The study, titled ‘Uttarakhand: Economic Growth and Investment Performance’, had been submitted to the chief minister, he said, adding that the report presented an overview of the state’s performance since the fiscal 2012-13.

“Apart from bureaucratic hurdles, the bottlenecks pertaining to land acquisition and environment clearances are also coming in the way of a smooth utilisation of investments,” Rawat said. “Even if half of the investments are properly utilized, it would result in some 30,000 people getting jobs in the industrial sector.”

Rawat said agrarian sector also required the government’s focused attention. The agriculture growth rate in the mountain state had registered a sharp decline from 12.3% in 2012 to 8.9% in the current fiscal, he said, quoting the Assocham study.

“The growth in the service sector though had registered a marginal increase from 33.9% in 2012 to 36.9%,” Rawat said, suggesting that the state government “re-strategise” its policy initiatives to boost to the farm and service sectors.