The Vice President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Eastern Region, Satyajit Kumar, expressed strong displeasure over the government’s approach in handling entrepreneurs in the state.

He said the political leadership of the state must show commitment to take bold and decisive steps if it really wants to speed up the process of industrialisation. Only then would actual growth be possible. But so far the government has been able to send the message among the entrepreneurs that investment is something which could be termed untouchable. This mindset has to change.

Speaking on the occasion the president of the Bihar Industries Association K P S Keshri, suggested that government should provide subsidy for developing the industrial areas to be set up by private parties. This would reduce the burden on the state for land acquisition, which has become difficult in view of the greater dependence on land and higher productivity.

He also said that the government set up its own mining company which would bid for coal blocks across the country. This, he said, would help the state in its endeavour to be energy-sufficient as coal linkage has become the stumbling block in the state’s quest for a power plant.

According to Amit Das, an Australia-based businessman who has his native house in Araria district, there is no active support from the Bihar government to the entrepreneurs. They just move from pillar to post. After getting approval from the state investment promotion board, entrepreneurs had to work hard at every stage to get help from the government.

Speaking at a workshop, Building Industrial Capabilities: Infrastructure, Finance, Skills and Entrepreneurships, on the second day of the Global Summit Amit Das said the situation is worse in the districts where officials neither care about entrepreneurs nor for investment proposals as they do not have time for these things.

The officials in districts are more interested in schemes like the Indira Awas Yojana and MNREGA. They simply sit on applications for nine to ten months.