Unfinished business

Industrialists are normally careful not to be too critical of the government since it still exerts considerable control over the economy. But G V Sanjay Reddy, vice-chairman, GVK Industries, did not seem to have such reservations. Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’s) annual general meeting and national conference in Delhi, he bluntly said he wanted the government to get out of the way of business and industry and narrated an issue to strengthen his case. GVK has a road project in Rajasthan that has been delayed by nine months because it lacks environmental clearance. Obtaining this clearance is not the result of a genuine ecological problem, he added, but because some official in the ministry in Delhi and people on the ground in Rajasthan “do not agree on the language in the letter”, as a result of which his project has been in limbo.