Goa’s performance in the ease of doing business (EoDB) has been appalling. Out of the 31 states and union territories in India, Goa ranks 21. Even Bihar’s ranking is 16, which at one point of time had seen businessmen exiting from the state for better opportunities. However, Goa seems to have woken up from its slumber and has engaged Ernst & Young Consultants to clean up 22 of its govt departments and make it online.
In 2014-15, under the 98 Point Action Plan, Goa had implemented 21.74% points and was placed at 18th rank. In the 2015-16, 340-point Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) assessment, Goa is placed at 21st rank with a very poor implementation rate of only 18.15% we have implemented just 61 action points and 275 remain to be attempted. The overall rank is not so important, what is really worrisome is the abysmally low rate of implementation. The result for the year 2016-17 is due, and will be coming up soon.
Nitin Kunkoleinker, former President of the Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) said, “Goa is in shambles as far as EODB is concerned. Mining has collapsed, tourism is also not doing too well, industry is not in a good shape and no new units are coming to Goa as IDC is not in a position to allot land, which is the very basic for industrialisation and job creation. Lately we have seen that the Investment Promotion Board too is in a crisis. However, I must compliment the government that on a day-to-day basis there is a negligible interference from the government and its officials. However, the facilitation in the departments are lacking and this becomes a major issue for industrialists whose money is at stake.”
Fearing yet another showdown, several seminars and workshops on Ease of Doing Business were organised to sensitize entrepreneurs of the various steps initiated by State Govt to implement BRAP.
Goa-IDC has also initiated reforms by uploading land bank information on its portal, commencing tree survey in all Industrial Estates, mandating submission of reports within 48 hours, started digitisation of inspection report, land allotment orders, construction permits, occupancy certificates for viewing and download amongst others.
The single biggest reform will be to implement a Single Window System which will seamlessly integrate multitude of services offered across departments with regard to EoDB in the State. Another critical reform is the introduction of online system for Building Plan Approval and Management Systems (BPAMS) including Auto-DCR in order to streamline and accelerate the process of providing Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) and other NOCs in building construction. Along with the IT infrastructure and reforms, regulatory reforms like introduction of risk based assessment of buildings, mandating single joint inspection system for various approvals, reforms for reducing the redundancies in the existing processes are required to be undertaken on priority.
Rajkumar Kamat, president, Goa State Industries Association (GSIA) said, “Ease of doing business in Goa has improved in some departments not in all. Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce, Pollution Control Board, PF, are some of those departments which has lately improved a lot. Substantial structural reforms have taken place at Labour Department and Goa IDC but the crux of the matter is that it is now in implementation stage. My personal observation is that the EoDB has positively improved in departments which have recruited young blood who are not of regulatory but contributory mindset and are comfortable with IT.”
Chairman of CII, Goa Council, Atrey Sawant said, “Govt is already working with a consultant to make all the departments IT enabled and we should give them time to see the results after they are IT enabled. We will also keep a watch on its implementation.”
Prajyot Mainkar, chairman, IT cell of GCCI believes that Goa is certainly an ideal place for business and Goa has been a suitable destination for start ups over last few years. “Even though there has been a spotlight on pendency and delays in release of IT and Start Up policies, the stakeholders have looked beyond than just looking for the release of the policies by the government. Goa has a favourable ecosystem and supportability in term of work culture and infrastructure assets,” said Mr Mainkar.
CMD of Alcon Group of Companies, Anil Counto said, “I can only say that at present doing business in Goa is a myth. At every stage there is hurdle. By and large officers want to help but they do not want to come forward and assist. You will never get your work done at one go even if your papers and documents are in order.”
