123 MoUs under implementation in MP: Vijaywargiya

Industries Minister Kailash Vijaywargiya today said in the state Assembly that during the period 1,300 MoUs were inked out of which 16 (companies) have commenced production.

He was replying to a query from Hemraj Singh Kalponi of the Congress and a supplementary from the Opposition's Deputy Leader, Choudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi.

However, nearly 100 MoUs were cancelled by the government due to different problems like lack of environmental clearance, finance and mining lease, Vijaywargiya said.

Chaturvedi and Kalponi said the state government spent huge amount of money on organising investors meet and in the last eight years, only 16 industries were set up, which was not a good sign.

In reply to another question from Ram Niwas Rawat of Congress, Vijaywargiya informed that he, along with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and a delegation, had gone to Japan, Korea and Singapore between June 17 and 26 and later Chouhan went to US from September 30 to October 8 to attract foreign investment in the state.

He clarified that the above visits were meant to attract foreign investment and not for inking MoUs as stated by the Opposition members.

Because of these visits, a number of investors from these countries signed MoUs with the state government during the recent Global Investors Meet at Indore.

The minister assured to provide the list of investors to Rawat within an hour.

Amid interventions from the Congress members, Vijaywargiya said during the tenure of the then Chief Minister Digvijay Singh also, the concerned persons had gone abroad to attract investments, but it was unfortunate that not a single foreign investor had invested in the state during the two terms of Congress rule.