Maharashtra govt unhappy over ease of doing business ranking

Plans to seek Centre's help for a re-assessment by the World Bank

The Maharashtra government says it disagrees with the World Bank report ranking the state at eighth place in the ‘ease of doing business’ index.

It proposes to request the Centre to recommend a re-assessment to the Bank.

State industries minister Subhash Desai told Business Standard: “The observations are based on old information. (This) government has taken a number of reforms, including amendments to the Factories Act, reduction in the number of approvals from 76 to 37, doing away with inspector raj and relaxation in River Regulatory Zone Regulations.”

FUND FLOW
Proposed investments in Maharashtra

• $5 billion (Rs 31,000 crore) Foxconn: To set up R&D and manufacturing facility
• Rs 6,400 crore General Motors: To expand its Talegaon facility
• Rs 4,500 crore Blackstone-Panchshil JV: IT park in Navi Mumbai
• Rs 1,700 crore Chrysler: To manufacture its marquee brand Grand Cherokee in Pune
• Rs 500 crore Coca Cola: In Lote, Chiplun
• Rs 500 crore Cognizant: In Pune
• Rs 355 crore Haier: In Ranjangaon

The government, he added, had issued about 40 circulars to reduce red tape for investors. Maharashtra has attracted ‘investment intention’ of over Rs 60,000 crore since October 31 when the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government took over, he said.

“After the Bank takes into account the recent initiatives, Maharashtra will be ranked third,” he added. “Some more reforms are in the pipeline, which, once implemented, will see Maharashtra ranked at first position next year.”

 Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, of the Opposition Congress party, said: “Maharashtra is the most desirable destination for foreign investment and also for investment in industry, financial services, information technology and entertainment. However, the government needs to maintain the state’s lead and should not cow down to pressures from Delhi to promote Gujarat.”

He said he’d offer a comprehensive comment after studying the  Bank report and the parameters on which the ranking was done.

Confederation of Indian Industry’s state council chairman Arup Basu said, “Although Maharashtra ranked eight among all Indian states, it ranked the highest in ‘Obtaining infrastructure-related utilities’, with clearly defined time lines for electricity, water and sewage connections, and a reformed electricity connection application process and also in ‘enforcing contracts’.  

A state industry department official said investing more than Rs 100 crore will enjoy ‘one window clearance’ under the ‘MAITRI' (Maharashtra Industry, Trade & Investment Facilitation Cell) scheme, a set-up of an empowered group of secretaries of various key departments to give all the approvals required for new industries within 30 days. Further, industrial units will no longer require separate permission from any local body to set up a unit in an existing industrial zone if they have already received a nod from the state-run Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.