Flow of investment proposals to Odisha on decline

Inadequate HLCA meets delayed investments worth Rs 59491 crore

Odisha, which was at the forefront of the states in attracting investments few years back, is witnessing gradual waning of investors’ interest.This is highlighted in a draft report by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG).

Audit scrutiny found that there is a steady decline in the number of combined application forms (CAFs) from investors received by the state’s nodal agency for investment promotion- Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol) from 2010-11 onwards.

As against 87 CAFs received in 2010-11, Ipicol received 48 in 2011-12, 20 in 2012-13 and 26 in 2013-14.

The report also pointed out that lack of enough sittings of the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), the highest body to clear investment proposals in Odisha, has delayed the implementation of Rs 59491.64 crore worth investment.“Between June 2005 and September 2012, HLCA held 15 meetings against 29 stipulated in Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR). Consequently, 11 proposals for setting up industries with proposed investment of Rs 59491.64 crore were delayed by one to 18 months”, the central auditor said in its draft thematic report on ‘Implementation of Single Window Mechanism and Financial Incentives under IPR 2007.

Further, up to 2012-13, 57 proposals involving investment of Rs 2.79 lakh crore were deferred by the task force or State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) without assigning any recorded reasons. Similarly, 66 proposals involving investment of Rs 55314 crore were not put up before the task force for want of further information from the promoters.

On the delay in grounding of investments, the report said, out of 236 proposals with potential investment of Rs 8.2 lakh crore, only 67 projects (or 28 per cent) with an investment of Rs 1.54 lakh crore had gone into production till 2013-14.In addition, 35 projects approved prior to 2007-08 by SLSWCA/HLCA had not commenced production.

According to the audit report, the progress of establishment of the industrial unit after getting approval was not monitored by Ipicol.

Out of 236 approved projects, 69 units are in the process of land acquisition ranging from 18 to 105 months after their approval, indicating lack of follow up and assistance by Ipicol to address the difficulty.

Pointing a finger at the HLCA, the audit report says the authority never reviewed the implementation of IPR 2007 though it was required to review the same on quarterly basis.

Besides this, the HLCA never reviewed the implementation of IPR provisions relating to amalgamation of different records, registers and returns required to be maintained under various labour laws and introduction and implementation of a system of joint inspection by various regulatory agencies.