In a major face-saving attempt, Commerce and Industry minister Anand Sharma today denounced a study released by his own ministry a day before in which Gujarat was hailed for having one of the best land acquisition models compared other states in the country.
The study - Best Practices to Improve the Business Environment Across States/UTs in India - was released online by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Tuesday. It was prepared by consultancy firm Accenture on behalf of the ministry.
However, at a time when the last leg of elections is on full swing, the government found its own foot in the mouth.
"It is private study. This was done to mislead the voters on a polling day," said a visibly upset Sharma who said there is no official sanction to the report where Gujarat's development model was cited as an example for other states to follow where it is difficult to do business.
"We have not made any report like this. We have taken several measures to make India a favourable destination as far as ease of doing business in concerned. For this we have even launched an eBiz portal to make processes simpler for companies to do. This is election time so am sure this report has been created by manipulation to confuse people," Sharma retorted here today.
He said the report has made false claims about Gujarat's best practices. He added that it was Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan that had done better job related to labour laws and single-window clearances.
"Lands were given at cheaper rate which did not belong to Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). Narendra Modi believes in giving himself 100 out of 100 in every report but trashes the good work of others. This is selective distortion and pure manipulation. This report was done to justify the allocation of public land at throwaway prices," Sharma added.
Strongly distancing himself and his ministry from the study he said it was done privately.
The study had even noted the best practices in Karnataka and Maharashtra with respect to labour management and trade and investment facilitation system.
Just last week BJP and Congress were bitterly fighting out each other in which Congress had accused BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who is also chief minister of Gujarat, for giving out lands to industrialist at dirt-cheap rates.
The report had highlighted that Gujarat has a simplified land acquisition procedure in the state with minimum direct government participation. As a result, an entrepreneur can approach GIDC for a speedier acquisition with fewer hassles.
It even praised the practices Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has adopted with regards to faster environmental clearances. A recent World Bank study ranked India at 134th position among 189 countries in terms of ease of doing business.
