Haryana investors meet to be low key

The Haryana government on Thursday decided to go ahead with the Investors Summit on March 7 and 8 in Gurgaon sans razzmatazz.

Bruised after a spell of quota violence in the state, the BJP government in Haryana on Thursday decided to go ahead with the Investors Summit on March 7 and 8 in Gurgaon sans razzmatazz.

Civic bodies in Gurgaon have been busy giving the city a facelift ahead of the global investors’ summit on March 7 and 8.(HT File Photo)

The state government though has decided to drop the Pravasi Haryana Divas scheduled for March 9. The fate of the summit had become uncertain after large scale arson and violence rocked several districts of the state last week.

Industries and Commerce Minister Capt Abhimanyu, who chaired a meeting on Thursday to take a call on fate of Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit, told HT the government has decided to go ahead with the summit in a simple and sober manner.

“Despite the fact that there was turmoil, we don’t think that there is any negative sentiment as far investment climate is concerned. We are going ahead with the summit in a business-like manner to ensure that Haryana remains on track as far as economic development and growth is concerned which will spur employment generation,’’ the minister said.

Capt Abhimanyu said they have decided to cancel the Pravasi Haryana Divas. “Also, celebratory events like a golf session and a cultural evening at Kingdom of Dreams during the summit have been called off. The glam and glitz has been done away with,’’ he said.

The industries minister said they will work hard in maintaining a positive investment climate in the state. “The targeted memorandums of understanding will be inked during the summit,’’ he said. Sources said tagline ‘Happening Haryana’ may also be withdrawn.

The Happening Haryana Global Investor Summit was touted as a major effort of the BJP government to position the state as premier investment destination. As a precursor to it, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Capt Abhimanyu had led official delegations to Japan and China besides organising business road shows in Delhi, Kolkatta, Mumbai and Chennai.