Dehradun: Questioning “investment” in Uttarakhand after state govt’s much-publicised investors’ summit, LoP Rahul Gandhi while citing a media report, has termed it as a “big fraud” by the Dhami govt. He alleged that the “investments existed only on paper and employment in slogans, and the state’s youth got nothing but paper leaks during BJP rule”.
Meanwhile, refuting the Congress leader’s allegations, govt authorities on Monday said that “all figures related to investment in the state are public and details of each project are available on govt websites”. They added that “encouraging local entrepreneurs and creating a favorable environment for them is the govt’s priority”. State govt also filed a case at Rajpur police station against social media handles and unidentified persons that were purportedly circulating videos questioning the summit’s grounding figures.
Gandhi wrote on X that the Global Investors’ Summit was widely publicised as having garnered “1,779 MoUs worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore”, and around Rs 100 cr of public money was spent on roadshows for the event. A recent media investigation, he said, revealed that even flour mills, fertiliser-seed shops and small clinics were counted as “investors,” adding that a school run through CSR and donations was described as an “investor” of Rs 24.4 cr.
He said, “Some of the people mentioned as investors did not even know they’re on the list. Also, Rs 35,279 crore — that is, 35% of the investment — belongs to ‘govt power companies’ which would have in any case invested in the state.”
Gandhi further added that one investor credited with an investment of Rs 1,200 cr had reported no earnings for four years and listed no employees in its records. “Roadshows in Dubai and London were said to have attracted investments worth Rs 27,975 cr, yet not a single company from either city features on the list of investors that have actually invested on the ground,” Gandhi said.
He further wrote: “Just seven days before the summit, on Dec 1, 2023, the definition of ‘investment’ itself was loosened. This is what is called: first change the rules, then present the figures. CM should make public the full list of 3,300 ‘investors’”.
Meanwhile, reacting to the allegations, industries secretary, Vinay Shankar Pandey said, “Grounding of investments worth more than Rs 1.01 lakh cr has been completed so far and preparations are being made for the next grounding of investments worth about Rs 24,000 cr. Details related to this have also been made available on the single window system.”
On small local investors figuring in the list, he said, “If a local person starts a small business by investing Rs 10,000 from his hard-earned money and two people get employment from it, then this too is an important contribution to the state’s economy and employment generation.”
The secretary further said that “questioning the inclusion of a flour mill, mobile shop or other small business in the investment category is not correct since Uttarakhand is a small state where investment opportunities are restricted due to its geography.”
“The geographical conditions of Uttarakhand are different from those of other states. About 70% of the state’s area is forest-covered, and the possibilities for setting up heavy industries are only limited to areas like Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and some parts of Nainital.” He asked the media and people to directly inspect the projects, interact with entrepreneurs and assess the work done on the ground on the basis of facts.
Meanwhile, in a complaint to police by industries directorate on Sun, additional director Mrityunjay Singh alleged that false and misleading facts regarding investment in the state were being continuously circulated from certain social media account and other mediums. It added that “this could create a situation of confusion and distrust among investors and adversely affect the state’s industrial environment.”
Courtesy : TOI
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