Pitching itself as ‘Investor’s Paradise’, Tamil Nadu has been sweating it out for the past few months to attract huge investments in the State ahead of the Global Investors Meet (GIM).
However, the basic problems, social and infrastructural, continue to plague growth and development. Now, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has come up with development plans for nine districts, detailing the infrastructure gaps.
After doing a SWOT analysis, CII has presented a road map, explaining the opportunities available to revamp the districts as potential investment zones.
S N Eisenhower, Chairman of CII Tamil Nadu State Council, says, “This is a socio- economic report aligned with TN Vision 2023. It was done voluntarily by CII.”
But, data in the exhaustive report indicates that the State was lagging behind in many areas even in 2015.
A government official admits that things are moving a little slower. “There will be more action soon. You cannot write off Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest contributor to the country’s GDP at almost 8.4 per cent,” he says.
Not every official takes such reports seriously. Asked if the report will help the government in policy making, a senior official says there are several such reports by industrial associations. “It is more of a wish list. These reports help as a background and do not solve the problem as a whole.”
“Some of the issues that can be dealt with locally can be managed by the district administration itself,” says the Collector, emphasising that development comes with a host of other issues like land acquisition and litigation.
“Some of the projects in the list need a policy decision. Some need huge financial outlay. For such projects, the State and Central governments will have to contribute. We can only give the required push,” says another Collector.
Better housing facility for the working class in Tirupur and a Mass Rapid Transit system for Coimbatore require huge investment and a political will and commitment. Both have been promised for years, says a Coimbatore-based industrialist.
Some of the recommendations were part of the wish list prepared by the industries in the western region ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he points out.
