Rajasthan slips in biz rankings, but govt upbeat
JAIPUR: The Prime Minister has praised the government at an event here recently but figures of the central government shows that the state (Rajasthan) has failed on social and economic fronts.
SACHIN PILOT , Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president
Even though Rajasthan has slipped to the ninth spot in the ease of doing business rankings for 2017-18, the state government is doing its best to project it as an achievement given that Rajasthan has performed well in the reforms category.
“Rajasthan ranked continuously among top performers in the ease of doing business. I congratulate all the departments that have worked tirelessly and put Rajasthan among top states,” chief minister Vasundhara Raje tweeted on Tuesday evening.
Rajasthan has slipped from the sixth position in 2015-16 and the eighth spot in 2016-17 to the ninth position this year. While the state has done well in implementing reforms with a score of 99.46%, it has slipped drastically in the user feedback scoring 64.44%. The overall score of 95.68% is the combined score placing the state at the ninth spot.
Andhra Pradesh continued to be the best state to do business in the ease of doing business ranking prepared by the World Bank and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
Officials in the state industry department, who did not want to be named, said that when it comes to reforms, Rajasthan has performed well in almost all the parameters, be it construction permits or access to information and transparency index.
“The DIPP took feedback from businesses on the quality of implementation of the reforms. We have slipped in the feedback rankings, especially in the single window implementation of single window clearance system (SWCS). While the SWCS offers a range of services to the potential investors, some investors also have to approach other departments, such as for getting environment approvals. This is the reason why the investors face delays,” the official said.
Reacting to the development, Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma said that it was a major setback for the government and any attempt to whitewash it won’t work.
“The main reason is corruption and law and order. The single window system is not working. This government has spent more than ₹500 crore on Resurgent Rajasthan,” she said.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot said that investors are losing interest due to “wrong policies” of the government and “deteriorating law and order situation” in the state.
He said that the government spent crore of rupees in ‘Resurgent Rajasthan’ summit in 2015 but red-tapism prevalent in the bureaucracy and “rise in crime” have created disinterest among investors.
DIPP released the latest rankings based on the scores that are finally combined scores based on reform evidence score and feedback score for the state.