US investors concerned over dual stance of Bengal govt

KOLKATA: At a time when industrialisation in West Bengal has lost steam, American investors have expressed concern about the dual stance of state government towards US. While at one level the state is gung-ho about attracting US investment, it is often perceived as anti-US, a white paper released by the American Chamber of Commerce in India (Amcham) said.

"The state should represent a cohesive mindset. It cannot work out of compartmentalised minds, contradicting each other that while America is bad, American investments are good," the report noted.

The US investors lobby also feels there is a pressing need to change the political style in the state across parties. The style should evolve from an agitation-based approach to one that is characterised by public debate and consensus building. "Political dissent is often expressed by way of bandhs, violence and counter-violence. This needs to be resolved first for the state to accomplish the mindset turnaround," Amcham said.

Amcham also feels that while the potential of West Bengal has been talked about in the past one decade, the state must now create an ambient environment to convert prospects into achievements. "The state needs to communicate a clear vision of what it wants vis-à-vis industry and needs to back it up with a clear set of policy measures and infrastructure support system," the white paper notes.

"Industrialisation cannot be at the cost of agriculture because West Bengal leads in the production of some agri-produce. However, since the state processes only 2% of the food that is produced, professional commercial agriculture may deliver the results," Amcham said.

Amcham has also come up with a set of recommendations for West Bengal. This includes creation of a clearly communicable industrial vision and mission statement, create a political consensus around not using bandhs as a means of political protest, permit rallies only on Sundays and holidays, develop a common minimum programme with the principal opposition political parties on critical aspects of the industrial policy, have a transparent policy for land acquisition and a formal mechanism for customer service orientation for the bureaucrats.