The founder and managing director of Jindal Alluminium, S.R. Jindal, who hit out at corruption and red tapism in government at the Global Investors Meet (GIM) – 2012 , explained where his anger stemmed from in a chat with Deccan Chronicle. Excerpts…
What led you to make this attack on the government?
KIADB has acquired about 70 acres of land for Jindal Alluminium at Dobbspet. Although it should have been alloted to us six months ago, there's no sign of it and the authorities claim the farmers are not parting with it. Despite running from pillar to post we still have no land for our project. The officers only demand illegitimate favours and want us to grease their palms.
Why do you think the farmers are not parting with their land?
The governemnt has fixed Rs 45 lakh for the land abutting the road and Rs 35 lakh for the land located in the interior. But this is not adequate and the farmers’ demand is reasonable. We are ready to pay them proper compensation. There is scope for negotiation, but the government gets high-handed with the support of the police.
Why do you say that the single window agency is ineffective?
I can prove it is. The single window concept was formulated to give clearances in one go and attract entrepreneurs. But in reality it has several doors and ventilators. We still need to run around for 12 clearances from 12 different agencies like pollution control board, gram pachayat, labour inspectorate and so on. When appearing before the high power committee headed by the chief minister, these authoritiesl nod their heads, but later, when we go to them for clearance they raise hundreds of questions. We request the government to remove these hurdles to attract investors.