A key right from Telangana

[gattaca]

Even as the Central government fights to create a business-friendly environment, the brand-new Telangana government led by K. Chandrasekhar Rao has walked the talk by announcing a unique and highly welcome Right to Clearance policy. This is a significant move in the new State’s industrialisation programme, and could prove to be a crucial differentiator in the near future. Akin to the Right to Information, the Right to Clearance recognises that businesses have the right to know why project proposals are being delayed and to demand redress for unnecessary procrastination. Bureaucratic red-tape and corruption have not really come to an end in India despite the death of licence raj; industries are still at the mercy of whimsical policies and procedural nightmares. The Right to Clearance will involve a provision to impose a fine of Rs.1,000 on officials for each day of delay in granting clearance to a project, besides allowing businesses to know the exact reason why a proposal is stuck. It also lays down a 15-day time limit for the clearance of mega-projects involving over Rs.200 crore, and of one month for smaller projects. If government departments miss the deadline, the project will get automatic deemed approval. These, and other features such as single-window clearances, automatic renewals and self-certification, will go a long way towards creating an ecosystem that eases doing business in the State. The opportunity costs of clearance delays are enormous. Such cost and time overruns impact the viability not just of industries but also of lending institutions. Across the country, projects worth crores of rupees are mired, awaiting clearance. It is this fact that makes the Chandrasekhar Rao government’s move particularly laudable. Naturally, it has been welcomed by leading industrialists, with some of them already announcing projects. They now have a sense of reassurance and renewed belief that the Telangana government is serious about creating an outstanding industrial hub. Extending the out-of-the-box thinking, the Chief Minister has assured industry of “a graft-free and hassle-free system†that will remove lobbies and middlemen. Moves such as this will help rid the bureaucracy of inertia, and inject a sense of urgency and responsibility into the system. The Telangana government’s move not only empowers industries but also raises the bar considerably, and other States will have to match the offer if they don’t want to lose out amid the growing inter-State competition for investment. There is, however, one thing the government must note. Project-appraisal is not only about speedy clearances. Proper due diligence is also a sine qua non for clearance. Speed should not result in ill-conceived or poorly-structured projects being rushed through, and it is to be hoped that the policy will also ensure that.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-a-key-right-from-telangana/article7315486.ece

[gattaca]

hopefully other states follow. This is a great move by KCR.

[BeautifulGame]

KCR has really surprised pro development initiatives Feared he might be another Mamta

[G_B_]

must be said good move.

[Kalia_Test]

Competition has so far turned out to be very good for both states. The combined AP was already one of the better states in India and now I am sure both of these will compete to be the better economic states. Just wish some petty comments from political leaders from both regions take a back seat - already seen them being pushed back but hope it becomes close to zero in a couple of years :two_thumbs_up:

[Kalia_Test]

All non-Congress CMs - I know it is basically NTR, CBN and KCR only - have been pro-development in AP - touchwood ( talking from 80s - not sure before that). NTR focussed a lot on self-respect of Telugus ( used Congress' stupid thought of taking AP for granted that changed 3-4 CMs of AP in 3-4 yrs through orders from Delhi ) to win elections but was pro-development ( need to remember that for a good part of his tenure, India was not that liberalized i.e not much that states could do ). Even YSR ( Congress ) was OK - he dint carry many grudges and let many CBN initiatives go ahead. His stature in Congress was bigger than quite a few Cabinet Ministers in UPA Govt IMO - IIRC he was the one sending maximum ( or 2nd ) no. of MPs for Congress. Unfortunate accident though ( many rumors of Mukesh Ambani's hand in local Telugu newspapers at that time as massive KG basin gas reserves were discovered and YSR was demanding the State's share from Reliance - some say YSR even asked Sonia and MMS to STFU and let him deal the matter )