BHUBANESWAR: THE State Government came in for sharp criticism from the opposition ahead of the Make in Odisha conclave 2018, beginning Sunday, for its alleged failure to provide hassle-free business climate to entrepreneurs.
While the BJP termed the biennial jamboree of industrial entrepreneurs as a political stunt before the 2019 elections, Congress said this is an image make-over workshop to cover up its failure on the industrialisation front.
Alleging that the contribution of industries to gross state domestic product (GSDP) is shrinking, State BJP general secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra said the industry share has declined from 43.6 per cent in 2011-12 to 34.8 per cent in 2017-18 even as mineral-rich Odisha has huge potential for industrialisation.
Similarly, the manufacturing sector’s growth has stagnated at 15 pc since 2014-15. Since there is no growth in the manufacturing sector, which provides maximum employment, the State Government’s claim of industrial progress is nothing but a hoax, he said.
Odisha slipped from 7th position in 2015 to 11th in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings jointly prepared by World Bank and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) this year.
Baxipatra said only eight pc of the total MoUs signed during Make in Odisha Conclave in 2016 have been grounded in the last two years. Only nine out of 93 MoU signed projects have been commissioned in the State while 22 projects were either withdrawn or were cancelled, he added.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said the State Government signed many MoUs with companies in the last 18 years, but only a few have set up industries here. Many, including POSCO, have returned and those who stayed back are sustaining loss and planning to sell their units, he added.
“When it comes to personal branding through “Jumla” schemes with fancy names, the CM is aping his ‘phone-a-friend’ in Delhi, left, right and centre. Since Make in Odisha 2016, of the 124 companies that gave proposals only 3 have commenced operation. Make in Odisha or Fake in Odisha?,” said Niranjan in his twitter handle.