Of all MoUs signed for large projects, 56.38% are believed to have been withdrawn. In January 2009 meet, 8,660 MoUs worth Rs12.37 lakh crore were signed.
Just four days ahead of Vibrant Gujarat summit 2011, a reality check into the MoUs signed in the fourth edition of the summit in 2009 gives one not-a-very-rosy picture. Of all MoUs signed for large projects, 56.38% are believed to have been withdrawn. In January 2009 meet, 8,660 MoUs worth Rs12.37 lakh crore were signed.
Of this, 1,653 MoUs were for large projects. But of this, only 145 MoUs were commissioned and 570 MoUs are under implementation. In percentage term, the figure translates to 43.62%.
Though 1,653 MoUs for large projects were signed, there was no official clarification about the size of investment that makes a project large. Similarly, there was no clarification as to the size of the project that qualifies to be SME. Government statistics reveals that 56.38% of large project MoUs which were signed in 2009 are either withdrawn or have been dropped, leaving only 43.62% of large projects which are either commissioned or under implementation.
“In case of the large project MoUs which were withdrawn, the companies could not find land and so they decided to withdraw. The Gujarat government had told the companies that they will have to find land on their own,” said a government official. According to industry sources, any MoU which is not withdrawn is classified as ‘under implementation’ by the state government. “In many such MoUs, the agreement has remained on paper and companies have also not withdrawn it. Technically, the state government is considering the MoUs as ‘under implementation’,” said the sources.
For example, Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (HCC) wanted to set up a waterfront city with an investment of Rs40,000 crore and Sabeer Bhatia proposed ‘Nano City’ at a cost of Rs30,000 crore. These projects are stuck in land tangle or due to other issues.
In the last edition, 1,921 proposals for SME were signed and of this, 1,164 projects (76.16%) were commissioned and around 300 projects are under implementation. “In case of SMEs, they are seeking land from the state government but the government is not in a position to give land to them,” said state government sources.
For example, Ahmedabad Foundry Cluster wanted to set up a foundry cluster with an investment of Rs900 crore on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. And Gujarat State Plastic Manufacturers Association (GSPMA) wanted to set up ‘Poly Park’ near Sanand and sought nearly 100 acre land.
Both the foundry cluster and ‘Poly Park’ were supposed to be operational within three years, but the associations are still looking for land. The government has asked them to buy land for their projects and has promised only infrastructure development.
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