In global investor list, atta chakki-wala with Rs 17,000

BHOPAL: Dubey Masala Chakki from Alirajpur district had proposed an investment of Rs 17,000, while another company, Prakash Hira Safai, came up with an investment proposal of mere Rs 5,000. Yet these companies, and many more, were listed as prospective investors by the Madhya Pradesh government during a previous global investors’ meeting. The latest meeting is to start on Saturday.
In reply to a query filed by social activist Ashish Charutvedi under the RTI Act, the MP Trade and Investment Facilitation Corporation (TRIFAC) provided him with a list of 2,201investment proposals received during the Global Investors Summit of 2014.The list includes around 20 proposals for setting up atta chakkis (flour mills) with investments ranging from Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000.
Most of these investment proposals were received from Alirajpur, a tribal-dominated district. The lowest bid was by Prakash Hira Safai, a diamond polishing firm that proposed to invest Rs 5,000.
Dubey Masala Chakki of Seoni district proposed to invest Rs 17,000; it was followed by Jameel Rupijay of Alirajpur district whose investment proposal amounted to Rs 20,000 for a business listed in the RTI reply under the category “Others”.
“The government has included these petty investments to inflate the quantum of investment proposals received, and not for anything else,” Chaturvedi told TOI.
Alirajpur district industries centre head Kalu Singh Solanki, who had actually received the proposals, said, “We got these proposals in 2014 and, because we were told to send all investment proposals, we forwarded these to higher officials as well. But none of these people were invited to the GIS as I was later informed that only big investment proposals should be sent for the GIS”.
But the list of prospective investors provided to Chaturvedi under the RTI Act includes even those coming with a few thousand rupees to spare. “However, some other Alirajpur traders went to attend the GIS with us. But this year no invitation has been received,” Solanki said.
The Madhya Pradesh government has hosted investor summits since 2007. So far four GISs have been organised in the state and the fifth is going to be held on October 22 and 23.
Cumulatively, such summits between 2007 and 2012 led to a total of 470 MoUs being signed; of these, 152 (nearly 30%) were cancelled, says the same reply.