Poor pace of reforms did Punjab in; govt hopeful of catching up
Fared poorly on reform evidence score, but performed better in user feedback; ranking based on last year’s info, things looking up, says dept; 201 reforms had been implemented in the state
CHANDIGARH: Blame it on poor perception, slow pace of reforms or anything else, Punjab figured among the “aspirers” – euphemism for laggards – in the performance-based ‘Ease of doing business’ rankings of states and union territories in the country.
The rankings prepared by the World Bank and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Business Reform Action Plan 2017, which were released on Tuesday, placed it among the states and UTs at the bottom of the ladder, alongside Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Puducherry, among others, on the implementation of the action plan for business reforms.
SLIPPED TO 20TH SPOT FROM 12TH
Punjab, placed at the 20th position out of 34 with a score of 54%, slipped from the 12th spot it got last year. The Centre had launched the rankings to encourage competition among states for improvement in business environment to attract domestic and foreign investments.
The state has been done in by non-implementation of 45% of the 372 action points prescribed by the Centre to all states for reforms in areas related to labour, single window system, environment clearances, construction permits, paying taxes, obtaining utility certificates, land availability and allotment, enforcing contracts, registering property and carrying out inspections.
While 201 reforms were already implemented in Punjab, 166 required action at the time of preparation of report and another five were not applicable, according to data released by DIPP. The state fared poorly on reform evidence score based on evidences it submitted whereas it did well in user-feedback, introduced for the first time, to ascertain whether the reforms have reached the “ground level”. The feedback was collected through face-to-face interviews with stakeholders and 78 reforms were shortlisted.
Punjab did not figure among top five states in any of the 12 reform areas. In contrast, Haryana, which stood third overall, had implemented 368 reforms given under the action plan.
‘NEW INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE RANK’
While industries and commerce minister Sunder Sham Arora has attributed the low ranking to the 10-year Akali rule during which the prevailing environment did not attract industry, a department official said the ranking was done on the basis of information gathered in June 2017 when the new government had just taken over after the assembly polls in the state. “The government has come out with a new industrial and business development policy to simplify procedures and boost investor confidence,” said the official.
Principal secretary, industries and commerce, Rakesh Kumar Verma, said the ease of business was a grim reminder to get its act together.
“The structural change of making mining a separate department will help. The district-level single window system headed by the deputy commissioner has been started for clearance of proposals. Other states have had this practice for a while. Business first portal has been launched and more services are being included for online delivery,” said the official, adding, “We will cover lost ground.”