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Chandigarh, September 21: Debunking the claims of Punjab being No. 1 state by citing a single parameter index, People’s Party of Punjab chief called upon Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to stop misleading people at the cost of public exchequer as in over-all assessment in the same report, the World Bank had placed the state at rank 16 with Gujarat being at the top.
“The World Bank report of course gives Punjab first rank for setting up of new business but what matters is the overall ranking that is based upon eight specified parameters which include setting up of business, allotment of land, labour reforms and procedure for environmental clearance, infrastructure, procedure for registration for tax purposes and inspection for compliance of various norms on the basis of which Punjab is at No 16”, he added.
He said the World Bank report titled ‘Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms’ pertained to the period from January 1 to June 30, 2015 based upon 98-point action plan for business reforms agreed among department of industrial policy and promotion and states and union territories. It was in this overall context that Punjab ranked at 16th place which Sukhbir tried to ignore while highlighting just one parameter based upon the facility of online single window service. He said, of course, this ranking by the World Bank should be appreciated but it should not have been quoted by Sukhbir out of context to make tall claims and that at the cost of public exchequer.
Manpreet pointed out that the Gujarat government too had inserted ads in the newspapers today claiming it to be the best state for doing business on the basis of the same report but with a difference that all the parameters on which this report ranked that state at No 1 too had been given.
He said it was now too well known as to why the investors were avoiding Punjab despite the much hyped investment and agricultural summits as the entrepreneurs had certain apprehensions. He said while Punjab was looking for small investments, Taiwanese telecom giant had entered into Maharashtra government to investment 5 billion dollars over the next five years. He said the situations were just incomparable.
He called upon Sukhbir to present true picture before the people including the results of his investments summits before organising the next summit for which he had been traveling across the globe.
