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Japan to set up town in Goa for MNCs' benefit

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

Goa is planning to develop an Industrial Model Town, on the lines of the ones coming up in Gurgaon and Neemrana, with Japanese investment.

"This is the only way we can attract massive foreign investment here," says Rakesh Mehta, Goa's finance secretary, admitting that the present state of infrastructure is a stumbling block in the industrial growth.

In fact, industrial development has come to a grinding halt in Goa, especially due to the high court ban on new power connections. In addition, even the existing multinationals are crying for proper facilities of water, telecommunications and road network.

As Goa has historical trade links with Japanese due to mining exports since the Portuguese days, the authorities appear more confident of getting the proposal materialised.

IMT is being promoted by Japan in India to create an environment to transfer high technology and capital for export growth. It primarily focuses on developing industrial infrastructure to meet the needs of the trans-national corporations.

The IMT enables the country to have high access to high technology, leapfrogs an area into globalised environment and promotes ancillarisation around a nucleus of multinational corporation.

By developing infrastructure of highest quality, the IMT intends to bring in investment in hi-tech and sophisticated technology as well as export oriented units. The authorities are thus planning to acquire around 400 acres of area along the national highway linking two major towns of Panaji and Margao.

The IMT, says Mehta, will consist of industrial, residential as well as entertainment areas. All the necessary infrastructure like power, water, roads, communication facilities, etc, would be developed by a development consortium with whom the MoU would be entered into.

Though final decision in this regard is still awaited, the Congress government led by Luizinho Faleiro has prominently placed the proposal in the draft industrial policy, which is expected to be finalised shortly.

Withdrawal of sales tax exemption kept in abeyance

Putting an end to the controversy which had made the whole Goan industry hostile towards the Congress government, the decision to withdraw sales tax exemption has been now kept in abeyance till the year-end.

Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro, it may be recalled, had suddenly announced a cabinet decision last month to withdraw the blanket sales tax exemption for 15 years and to impose half of the fixed amount of sales tax on all the industries, with retrospective effect.

Acute financial crunch was the reason cited for the decision while Faleiro had justified his unilateral stand, quoting a Supreme Court judgement which had authorised the state government to reverse such policies in case of economic crisis.

The agitated industry, while protesting the decision, had also brought to the light that the cabinet decision was taken without having any proper statistical figures in hand.

The opposition parties had criticised Faleiro for applying the decision to all the industries when the cabinet proposal was meant for only the liquor industry.

Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting today, Faleiro has now announced that his government had agreed to give three-month time to study the proposal in-depth and come out with concrete proposals.

In consultation with the organisations like the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the Goa Small Industries Association, Faleiro has already formed a working group to study the whole issue. The group is supposed to prepare concrete proposals for the resources mobilisation.

"I am short of around Rs 140 million and the industry has promised me to give much more revenue than what I would get by withdrawing the ST exemption. Let us see what they do," said Faleiro.

He, however, still appears firm on diverting this revenue to the Infrastructure Development Corporation, which he is planning to constitute shortly, in order to overcome the shortcoming the state is presently facing to attract more industries.

He has also proposed a draft industrial policy for the tourist state, which was discussed recently by the industrial circles, trade unions as well as several environment-related NGOs, without coming to any conclusion.

Business

Goa