Investors assured of all help for infrastructure projects

Investors assured of all help for infrastructure projects

The Hindu

I will not demand money to clear projects, promises Kumaraswamy



WARM WELCOME: The Chairman of the CII, Southern Region, R. Parasu Raman (right), and the Chairman of the CII, Karnataka, Daljit Mirchandani, welcoming Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy (left) to a session on public-private partnership initiatives in i nfrastructure, in Bangalore on Friday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore: In the first ever such promise made in public by any Chief Minister of the State, H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday said, "I will not demand any money from any investor in Karnataka to get projects cleared." Instead, he assured investors that he will help them set up infrastructure projects across the State.

Making this promise at a session on public-private partnership initiatives in infrastructure organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Karnataka, Mr. Kumaraswamy said, "Personally, I will not demand any money from any investor and will immediately clear the project." However, efforts will be made to root out corruption, he replied, during the question and answer session.

Time-bound programmes

Mr. Kumaraswamy also said, "Somehow, I will try to solve the infrastructure problems of the city within 15 months." All secretaries to the Government have been directed to plan and execute time-bound programmes. Specifically on traffic congestion in Bangalore, he said a 10-point programme for decongestion has been worked out by the traffic police and results should be noticeable in six months.

Stating that the Bangalore metro rail project has been cleared by the Centre, he said work will go on at a rapid pace. Also, the international airport project will be completed ahead of schedule. Mr. Kumaraswamy also mentioned that he has asked investors for the monorail to take a quick decision with regard to Bangalore.

Announcing accelerated initiatives for private-public partnership in various sectors, he said the Government is looking at water supply, wastewater management, power generation and distribution, education and healthcare. Investors, he said, should look at other cities and help decongest Bangalore.

Mr. Kumaraswamy had a word of praise for the garment sector and said he will extend assistance to this sector, much more than Andhra Pradesh has been doing. The garment industry, which employs over four lakh people, needs assistance and the Government will provide it, he told an industrialist who suggested that Mysore could be a base for expanding the sector.

The Government is aware of the water supply problems Bangalore will face in the years to come, he said and mentioned that a plan has been worked out to ease the scarcity situation by 2010.

Chairman of CII, Karnataka, Daljit Mirchandani said the CII has come out with a model private-public partnership for both rural and urban areas. The CII will set up a council on various infrastructure projects to interact with the Government. The effort will be to bring all stakeholders to deal with the "contours of the city" and the stakeholders include urban bodies, non-governmental organisations, industries, etc.

Chairman of CII, Southern region, R. Parasu Raman, underlining the importance of private-public partnership, said CII members account for 56 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product. Considering that the Government has to involve industry to take the State forward. If the GSDP is to touch 10 per cent, industry has to grow at 12 per cent and needs further encouragement, he said.

The Chief Minister released a CII vision document on the textile/garment industry in the State and a CII report on industrialisation of the backward taluks Bagepalli and Kolar.