Coalition politics dents State s image

Coalition politics dents State s image
Vijay Times

Bangalore: The Silicon City of India appears to be over the hill in the face o Hyderabad receiving all the bouquets the second US consulate in South India, the F ab City and now the first Ministry of External Affairs secretariat branch outside of New Delhi.

Industry experts feel it is the uncertainty of coalition politics in Karnataka against the more stable, efficient and aggressive single-party governance in Andhra Pradesh that has done the damage to Bangalore s reputation as an investment magnet in south India.

S Babu, president, Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FK CCI), told Vijay Times that the 19-month Congress-JDS Dharam Singhled coalition seldom talked to the industry chambers about developing the City infrastructure.

On the other hand, the Y S Rajashekhar Reddy-led government in Andhra Pradesh single-mindedly involved itself in elevating Hyderabad in attracting investment.

This falls in line with why Infosys planned not to further expand in Bangalore, but looking primarily at Hyderabad and alternatively at Pune in its future designs.

He cited an example of the apparently uninterested manner in which the previous Karnataka government ignored a golden opportunity when a Japanese city mayor-led business delegation to Bangalore looked to investing and developing civic services.

Dharam Singh, then Chief Minister , did not attend the meeting hosted by FK CCI, but the same Japanese delegation was welcomed in T amil Nadu by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa who offered them land to establish a Japanese city in that state.

Industry experts feel if the new JDS-BJP coalition government can attract foreign companies and projects to Bangalore through development, things would again look up for Bangalore.

T Ramappa, Secretary , Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC), feels Bangalore is certainly not over the hill. The new government can focus on key areas of city infrastructure development and develop potential growth areas for attracting investment like Mysore Road and T umkur Road.

He identified Bangalore-Mysore Expressway as an ideal stretch to develop and attract firms to start projects there. The first three to four months of the present government would be crucial. They just have to do the simple things like developing good city infrastructure to provide a conducive atmosphere for increased investment flow .