‘Haryana has investor-friendly image, will bounce back’
In the latest rankings on ease of doing business index, Haryana has slipped from third to 16th position. The sharp slide has dealt a setback to the Manohar Lal Khattar-led Bharatiya Janata Party-Jannayak Janta Party coalition government’s hard sell to woo investors and also lent ammunition to the opposition. In an interview with Pawan Sharma on Monday, deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, who also holds the industries portfolio, promised to take corrective steps. Haryana has slipped from third to the 16th position. What went so wrong suddenly?
It seems the primary reason behind the dip in Haryana’s ranking is due to major changes incorporated in the criteria adopted by Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in its Business Reform Action Plan 2019 (BRAP-2019). Haryana’s new industrial policy will focus on the new grading system that the DPIIT has adopted to decide rankings.
How genuine do you think the findings of this survey are?
I won’t be able to comment much on it because it relates to the period before we joined the state government and I took over as the industry minister. I can assure you that the present team of officers is working hard to make state a big corporate and manufacturing hub.
Has introduction of new parameters in the survey gone against Haryana?
The revised parameters of the survey need to be looked into. Barring a couple of big states, these rankings reveal jump for mainly small and very less industrialised states and Union Territories. Major businesses hubs such as Karnataka, Gujarat,
Orissa, Haryana, Kerala have slipped.
Who is responsible for this poor performance? Is it bureaucracy?
The detailed findings of the survey will be discussed among the officers and required reforms will be implemented.
Haryana will bounce back.
What are the challenges this adverse ranking has posed? Is this a wakeup call?
This is an opportunity to revisit the state’s industrial policies and come up with more attractive plans for investors.
For the purpose, we are finalising Haryana Enterprises and Employment Promotion Policy this month. It will be a game changer. We not only plan to provide better environment for industry in the state, but also boost employment avenues. Our focus will also be bringing investment to areas where there is no industrial growth.
What is your message to the business community?
Haryana has an investorfriendly image. Despite the pandemic, big companies have expanded their manufacturing units in the state. Coca Cola has added three new units. In the past one year, six mega projects, with investment of Rs 8,607 crore, have been cleared and they will come up in Rohtak, Sonepat, Jhajjar, Nuh, and Rewari.
This is an opportunity to revisit the state’s industrial policies and come up with more attractive plans for investors.