Patna,(BiharTimes): Former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday asked the chief minister Nitish Kumar to explain availability of land for setting up industrial units in Bihar.
Talking to the media he reiterated that Nitish had unnecessarily created a hype about industrial development in Bihar upon grant of special category status and raised a false hope among the people despite knowing that land remained a scarce resource in the state.
He said an investor requires hundreds and thousands of acre land for setting up industrial unit that was simply not available in one chunk anywhere in the state due to huge population pressure on the resource.
Modi said most of investors, who signed MoUs with the state government, have returned without any investment due to non-availability of land.
Modi, who also held the portfolio of finance till June 16 last, said the industrialisation process in the state during the seven and a half years rule failed to reach the desired level due to scarcity of land notwithstanding the fact that the state government had formulated one of the best industrial policies anywhere in India.
According to Modi it has been noted that the investors had found it difficult to acquire land directly from the farmers. Even Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) has failed to take possession of the
land bought by it to transfer it to the investors.
He said the chief minister’s claim that the industrial investment would pick up after the grant of special status has no meaning. There is no connectivity between special status and industrialization. Even if special category status is granted, industries would not get any concession as happened in north eastern states.
He said the state government signed MoUs worth Rs three lakh crore with private entrepreneurs for setting up industries, but only Rs 3,000 crores could be invested so far.
This is not for the first time in the recent weeks that Sushil Modi had attacked Nitish on issue related to the special category status.
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