Ailing Govindpura industrial area in Bhopal awaits infra upgrade

During a visit to Govindpura Industrial Area (GIA) recently, appalled by the condition of the roads, a member of a team of French industrialists is learnt to have remarked that he would prefer to ride a bullock cart on his next trip.

Bad roads and several other issues plaguing the 48-year-old industrial area has prevented it from attracting foreign investment, industrialists say. In fact, a factory owner said on the condition of anonymity that the French company would have cancelled his work order if the team had a prior knowledge of the GIA's condition.

"Water supply, roads and street lighting are poor. In the rainy season, factories get waterlogged in the absence of proper drainage system. The movement of heavy vehicles and other four-wheeler is quite difficult," he added.

According to GIA administrative officer Rajesh Gupta, although there are no power issues, wires and electric poles hinder smooth movement of trucks. The GIA is said to be one of the biggest engineering clusters in India, as 60% of the total 750 industries are into manufacturing equipment, mainly for power sector.

The micro, small, medium and large industries manufacture spare parts and equipment used in transformers, motors, generators, turbines and switchgear. Yogesh Goyal, association secretary, said, "About 60% of the industries are facing a tough time due to recession in power sector. The coal block scam is a reason behind it."

Industrialist DK Kohli said that instead of "trying to impress" the MNCs at the forthcoming global investors meet, the government should revive existing hubs like the GIA.

13% VAT shoos away buyers

One way of doing that, according to Goyal is to reduce the VAT on certain goods from 13% to 5%. He said the government itself was losing revenue in the form of central sales tax because the high VAT was forcing people to purchase these goods from other states.

Another bottleneck is the e-tendering system followed by the Bharat Heavy Engineering Limited, which allows industrialists to file a tender several times. If an industrialist bids at a lower price, another industrialist can outbid him by reducing the price further. Rajesh Gupta said, "In the competition of lowering the price, instead of earning profit, industrialists have to pay from their own pockets."

Another major problem confronting the GIA, Goyal said, was the threat of losing skilled labour for want of work. He said the industrial cluster has the potential to generate 60,000 additional jobs if infrastructure is upgraded. Currently, it employs about 40,000 workers.

Encroachments

GIA is spread over 754 acres of land. Industrialists have complained that a part of the land has been encroached upon and converted into a slum. Industrialist DK Kohli said, "The association approached home minister Babulal Gaur and discussed the issue. But, he clearly stated that slum dwellers were his voters and he would not take action against them."

Demands

The association has been demanding that a monitoring cell shall be set up to look into infrastructure and business-related issues of the GIA. It shall have representatives from the government, industry department, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, power companies and the district administration, the association proposes.

The industrialists are also seeking a change in land policy of the MP government. Currently, they have to take clearance from various departments for establishing an industry.