The pre-budget presentation that the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry makes to the government annually at this time of the year is usually a list of demands, tax concessions they want, reforms they would like to see or amendments to existing laws and rules that would ease the manner of doing business in the State. To most people in Goa, this memorandum would be of little interest. But, this year, Narayan Bandekar, the president of the Chamber dropped a bombshell when he clearly stated that major companies in the State are contemplating closing down their manufacturing units in the State and establishing them elsewhere. To further weigh in this statement, he and the Chamber, listed down the names of the major companies that have moved out of Goa in the past couple of years due to the ‘unhealthy environment for industrial growth’ in the State. This is further substantiated by the Chamber, by pointing out that the World Bank ranked Goa 19 among Indian States in its Ease of Doing Business Survey 2015.
So here we have it: the State’s apex commercial and industrial body has stated quite unequivocally that the environment for industrial growth in the State is unhealthy and the World Bank survey ranks Goa quite low when it comes to ease in doing business. And, what is significant is that the Chamber has another grouse. The Chamber president stated, and we quote, “In industry there is already a feeling that the government is not sensitive to its demands and that without any sense of priorities, is indulging in unnecessary capital expenditure, spending funds in broadening and cementing existing roads, constructing bridges and highways without people’s demand.”
It is now not just the common man who is complaining of the government ignoring him and his welfare. Industry has the same complaint to make. This reflects very badly on a government and begs the question of what are the government’s priorities and where is the focusing on in its programmes and policies. The quote above has the answer partially, when it mentions that the government is ‘indulging in unnecessary capital expenditure, spending funds in broadening and cementing existing roads, constructing bridges and highways without people’s demand’. The Chamber president may have made a general statement, but Herald has been consistently raising issues of how the government has been wasteful in its expenditure, especially in the delayed construction of a concrete road from Miramar to Dona Paula and the third Mandovi bridge. It is obvious that this government has not got its priorities right and that in the past four years has spent money where it should not have done. In doing so, the more essential issues have been ignored.
Industry closing down and moving out of the State is a bad sign. It does not inspire other industry to come in and makes the task of attracting new investment even more difficult. This also places a huge question mark on the possibility of the government’s dream of making the State an ‘industrial cum investment hub’ coming true. It puts additional pressure on the Investment Promotion Board to show results. The government has set itself a target of an investment of Rs 25,000 crore in five years and 50,000 jobs. Going by the statements of the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this appears to be a dream that is unattainable. The government may start counting the number of jobs new investment is bringing to Goa and announcing it every time the Investment Promotion Board meets and clears any investment. It should also begin counting the jobs that are lost due to the closure of industry and subtract these from those that are going to be added.
The Chamber has also offered the government various suggestions and these include the setting up of a task force to be headed by the Chief Minister or the Chief Secretary that will assess the problems that the industry is facing. It has also sought that the State curtails wasteful expenditure and stops non-remunerative capital investment, besides seeking better management of tax collection. If the government has shut its ears to what the common man is saying, it is now time for it to listen to what industry is saying and make the changes.
