Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Prasad Harichandan on Fridaycriticised the State Government’s industrial policy and dubbed the Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR)-2015 launched by the Chief Minister on Thursday as eyewash.
Harichandan said the State Government has not done a new thing by launching the IPR to propagate ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the State. “It is a repeated version of the industrial policies of 2002 and 2007. You can say it is old wine in new bottle,” he quipped.
He said the Government had created a single-window system headed by the Chief Secretary and then formed a high-power committee headed by the Chief Minister to help industrialists or investors. “But you know some corporate houses were selectively allowed to invest in Odisha,” he said.
Due to the Government’s faulty policy, Harichandan said, big corporate houses like Arcellor Mittal, Reliance and Posco withdrew their projects from the State and some investors like Vedanta and Jindal Group would stop their plants. “Out of the 130 MoUs signed by the Government, only 43 industries are continuing their operation,” he said.
The PCC chief said the Government always stresses on attracting investors but never gives emphasis on sorting out problems relating to displacement and rehabilitation. “Industrialisation could not take place in the State because the Government has no strong and attractive rehabilitation and resettlement policy,” he said.
He said the Chief Minister thinks that only minerals-based heavy industries can prosper the State and ignores agro-based industries, cottage industry, tourism and village industries. “If Baba Ramdev can do business of more than `20,000 crore from agro-based industries only, why a State like Odisha fails in promoting agriculture and agro-based industries,” he wondered.