Finally, it is the same old story. Brilliant presentations but little movement at the operational level.
An impressive presentation by Andhra Pradesh officials highlighting the achievements of the 'IT state' failed to enthuse non-resident Indians at the 2nd Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations in Delhi.
Laced with facts and figures, the officials highlighted the growth of various industries, including Information Technology, and tourism in the state. But delegates at a discussion on 'Investment Opportunities in Andhra Pradesh' at the Vigyan Bhavan on Sunday accused bureaucrats of putting up hurdles before potential investors.
R (Bob) Sankaram, a top official of Gambro Healthcare in the United States, said he was not getting enough cooperation from the government to set up a corporate hospital in Vijayawada.
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Sankaram wants information on health services in Andhra Pradesh. "There is no presentation on health. There is no official from the health ministry. What should I ask and whom should I talk?"
"I am trying to get the problems sorted out. I have again managed to convince a group of NRI investors. This time the project is worth Rs 35 crores. I hope everything goes well."
One businessman said: "Infrastructure is so poor, there is no support from the government and there is very little information on whom to talk or where to go if you want to start business. Investors are not willing to deal with bureaucrats. It takes so much time to convince them (about projects).
"We (investors) want one place where you to solve all your problems. This is not happening despite the tall claims about e-governance and the Internet revolution."
Iftekhar Sharief, a California-based businessman, wants to set up a 5-star hotel close to Hyderabad. "Last year, the government said an international airport was coming up near Hyderabad. But so far they have not revealed the blueprint of the airport or what exactly is the status of the project. How long will it take?"
Khaja Quadeer Anwar, a Saudi Arabia-based businessman, was especially upset. "The government is only interested in our bank balance. They think we come here just for entertainment. The chief minister should have attended this discussion but there is not even a single minister here. They don't care for us because we don't vote."
In August 2003, Anwar had organised the NRI Convention and Festival 2003 in which about 2,000 NRIs from the Gulf had participated. "The chief minister did not attend because though we had sent an invitation to two months before the event he got to know about it just one day before. This is the state of the bureaucracy. Everyone was disappointed."
"We had brought investors from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. But looking at the attitude of the officials, they refused to invest. We want to help our country but we should get a similar response from the government."
Anwar is planning a similar convention of Gulf and US NRIs in August this year. "I hope it fares better than the last one."
Hari Musapeta, who manufactures batteries in Oklahoma, US, said he had brought an invitation from the governor of Oklahoma. "We want Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to visit Oklahoma to explore opportunities for investment," he said. "We NRIs want to act as a bridge between the US and India. The government should also come forward."
When confronted with these complaints, AP's Resident Commissioner in Delhi Rajarshi Bhattacharya said, "There might have been failures in individual cases. We will try our best to solve these problems."
