43% project investments a non-starter, Gujarat leads dismal show

NEW DELHI: In a worrisome trend, a staggering 43 per cent of total investment projects worth Rs 52 lakh crore were a non-starter in India as of March with Gujarat topping the list of states with lowest implementation rate, a report by industry body ASSOCHAM said today.

"Gujarat has recorded the lowest implementation rate as over half of the total investment projects remain a non-starter and just about 46 per cent of projects are under the implementation stage," the report said.

With over 82 per cent of investment projects under implementation, Haryana recorded the highest rate of implementation of investments among industrialised states throughout India.

Jammu and Kashmir (81.4 per cent), Punjab (79 per cent), Assam (72 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (69 per cent) are among the top five states that are currently witnessing a high rate of implementation of investments, according to the ASSOCHAM analysis.

The ASSOCHAM report said that over 34 per cent of these investments are stuck at the stage of announcement, implementation of about six per cent of projects has been stalled and there is no information of the remaining three per cent projects.

"These dismal figures showcase that owing to prevalence of global recessionary trends and slowdown of Indian economy, investments across states have been kept on hold which is worrisome for a country that desperately needs investments," said D S Rawat, national secretary general ASSOCHAM.

The report states that investments worth over Rs 69.5 lakh crore which is just about 57 per cent of the total investments of over Rs 122 lakh crore attracted from various public and private sources are under implementation stage as of March 2013.

"The prevailing unstable external and internal economic conditions, high inflation, credit availability and its cost along with a host of local problems like delays owing to land acquisition have been affecting the investment scenario in India," Rawat said, adding that only states that try to address genuine concerns of investors to possible extent see higher implementation rates.

Inadequate addressal of project induced displacement, failure of implementation of Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) policies, environmental clearances, bureaucratic delays, lack of clear cut policies and others have been contributing to lower implementation rates of investment projects in India, the report highlighted.