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Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, October 29
The stage is set for the much-hyped Investors Meet at Dharamsala on November 7 and 8. Almost the entire government machinery of the district was busy these days in making preparations for the meet.
Huge tents are being put up on police grounds of Dharamsala by the event management company hired by the state government. The government departments are sprucing up buildings and roads.
Though most of the officials were tight-lipped about the arrangements and guest investors, sources here said that about 1,250 rooms have been booked for housing the investors coming for the meet.
As per the schedule announced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the meet on November 7. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister for Railways and Commerce Piyush Goyal are expected to attend the meet on November 8. On the first day on November 7, sessions would be held for investors on ease of doing business, overseas Indian session, session on tourism, wellness and Ayush and partner country session.
On November 8, sessions will be held on renewable energy and hydro power, food processing, dairy development and manufacturing, including medium small and micro enterprises (MSME), on incentives and policies for promoting investment in hill states and session on IT and electronics. In the sessions the government departments would present their policies before the investors.
A cultural programme would also be held for the visiting investors on November 7. The investors are being asked to register themselves online for the meet.
Sources said that the Industries Department was also inviting the existing investors in the state. Letters have been sent to owners of various small scale units seeking their consent to attend the meet.
The state government and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur have been organizing various shows and holding talks with industrialists in India and foreign country for the last about one year to attract investment. Already the government has claimed that MoUs for more than Rs 75,000 crores have been signed for investment in the state. The forthcoming Investors Meet was the culminating event for drive to attract investment in the state.
However, it remains to be seen how much investment really coming at the ground level. The single page MoUs signed by the state government with the investors does not have any binding for either the investor or the state government on any project.
The state government was just hoping that investment would flow into the state as it eases the process of environmental clearances and acquiring land in Himachal that were the major bottlenecks for investment in the state.
The opposition was already targeting the state government and terming the Investors Meet as a mela that would hardly bring in any investment.
Government machinery working overtime
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