Chief Minister Raghubar Das' stint to showcase Jharkhand before investors from outside may have to face some troubled waters when the voyage enters Bengal on Friday.
Information coming in suggests that fearing backlash from West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee, not many businessmen operating locally over there are looking forward to the offers coming from Jharkhand.
Top sources in the industry conglomerate and the main organiser of the roadshow, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), told 'The Pioneer' that politically unfavourable situations prevailing between both the neighbouring States would mar what could have been a big gain for Jharkhand.
"This is the first time when the Jharkhand Government is venturing out in West Bengal in order to invite investors despite having long association between the two States in terms of business relationship.
“We are getting lots of positive feedbacks and there is keenness among the investors to come to Jharkhand. But the probable fear of the Government over there is
taking a toll onto them. Many are fearing ire from the top leadership in West Bengal on their attempts to go and invest in Jharkhand instead of West Bengal," said a senior CII functionary requesting not to be quoted.
The Chief Minister along with top bureaucrats, including Secretaries of Industry and Tourism Departments, left for Kolkata on Thursday evening to attend the one-day roadshow. However, the event, which is an extension of the Chief Minister's previous ventures in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and New Delhi and one of the curtain raisers before the 'Momentum Jharkhand global investors meet' scheduled for February next year at Ranchi, is expected to catch some eyes.
"We are set to offer several lucrative proposals to investors in Kolkata and also through the industrialists already operating in Jharkhand. As many as four MoUs are expected to be signed with different companies engaged in food processing industry, power, wood, tourism etc. Entertainment leader Carnival Group is also among them," said Industry Director K Ravi Kumar. Some top companies that have lined up for the event include Century Ply, ITC, Bandhan Bank, Tech India, Infinity Group and few others.
It is learnt that the Chief Minister is scheduled to hold one-to-one meeting with Bandhan Bank's Managing Director Chandra Shekhar Ghosh and also with Sanjeev Puri, Chief Operating Officer of ITC limited who is also Director in-charge of FMCG and paperboards, paper and packing with the multinational retail giant.
"There is lot of scope in the State in agriculture loans, micro finance, MSME loans and retail advances. Vast area of the State is still unbanked where Bandhan Bank can play a role. Besides, there is scope in hotel industry, paper making, FMCG, food processing and tourism. We have also requested the ITC to consider developing clusters for agarbatti (joss stick) around Hazaribagh area," said CII Jharkhand in-charge Rana Banerjee.
At the same time, the think tank for the roadshow has declined to entertain proposals for infrastructure sector players considering already "packed" segment in the State. "We want a real pool here and there are already many players in the field of infrastructure," said an official in the Industry Department.