BENGALURU: Less than 10 per cent of the proposed investments between April 2013 and November 2017 have actually been realised, as per data from Large and Medium Industries Department.
The data shows that a majority of the proposals — 91 per cent — were either under implementation or have been completely dropped due to various factors. For instance, of the Rs 42,291 crore proposed investments for 255 industrial units in 2013-14, only 50 units with an investment of Rs 12,309 crore have been implemented till date. Also, 111 proposals worth Rs 8,135 crore have been dropped while 94 projects worth Rs 21,854 crore were still under various stages of implementation — almost five years after they were approved.
Just last year, Karnataka was named the most attractive investment destination in the country by the central Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion as the state attracted investments to the tune of Rs 1.47 lakh crore between January and September. This was double the investments attracted by Gujarat.
Of the proposals, only Rs 19,648 crore was invested between March and November 2017. The data was submitted to the Legislative Council on Friday in response to a question from MLC Jayamala Ramachandra.
Similarly, of the proposed investments of Rs 65,480 crore for 108 units in 2014-15, 38 projects worth Rs 14,531 crore have been implemented while 49 proposals worth Rs 47,184 crore was under implementation and 21 projects with proposed investments of Rs 3,764 crore have been dropped.
In terms of employment, of the 1.71 lakh expected employment opportunities due to investments in 2013-14, 70,427 employment opportunities evaporated with the dropped projects, while 51,442 jobs (29.82 per cent) of the proposed number were created. In 2014-15, the number of jobs created was 11,070 as against the proposed employment of 56,067. Considering employment generation due to these investments between March 2013 and 2017, of the proposed 8.65 lakh jobs, only 1.88 lakh jobs were created (21.37 per cent).
Speaking to Express, K Ravi, president of Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that generally, at investors’ meets such as Global Investors’ Meet held in Karnataka annually, not all of the intentions for investment are realised. “I think it is absolutely normal,” he said, adding that it has been happening since such investors’ meet became popular.
On reasons why about 12 per cent of the proposed projects were dropped, he said that some face difficulties such as getting environmental clearance from regulatory agencies, required land and others.
