Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for the past 11 years, is trying hard to woo investors, global and domestic, to his state. In September, he travelled to the UK, showcasing MP's advantages as an investment destination. In October, he held a Global Investors Summit in Indore. Chauhan speaks to Anilesh S. Mahajan on national- and state-related business issues.With the Goods and Services Tax coming into force, Madhya Pradesh's location could make it the country's logistics hub. How are you preparing for this opportunity?
It is almost certain that MP will become a logistics hub because of its central location in the country. We are studying the implications of the paradigm shift that is about to occur. We are seeking investments in the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. Some logistics players have already started work in Sangwad, near Pawarkhera, and at Katni. We will give investors land and other facilities, but all these projects will be in the PPP mode only. We have land and have identified some of the locations to be developed as logistic hubs, and once we reach there, we will stitch up the policy loop.
Abolishing the Planning Commission and setting up NITI Aayog was a major reform of the NDA government. State chief ministers were roped into national planning, especially in relation to Centrally-sponsored schemes and programmes like Swachh Bharat and Skill India. But many believe that the concept has not taken off. What do you feel?
The Planning Commission was useless. Once a year, we chief ministers would attend its meeting and read out scripted speeches. There were only negotiations on allocations to states with chief ministers. There was no participation of the chief ministers or state governments in the planning. In NITI Aayog, the states and Centre work together. This strengthens the federal structure and speeds up development. I was convener of the chief ministers' panel on Central-sponsored schemes at NITI Aayog. All the recommendations of our panel were accepted.
You, along with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, recently shared the dais with Gopichand Hinduja at the Global Investors Summit in Indore. Hinduja's name had figured prominently in the Bofors scam, and in 2003, Jaitley had termed his acquittal in the Bofors case a 'burial of justice'. Does his presence at the meet imply that Bofors is dead and forgotten?
I don't want to comment on any individual investor. I went to the UK in September to seek investments, and met him there (for the first time). Please don't read any controversy into this. I don't mind anyone investing in my state as long as it is clean money.
How do you respond to the current campaign of BJP-affiliated organisations and RSS leaders against Chinese products?
The protests are against dumping by the Chinese. Investing in India and dumping products are two different things. Anyway, in MP, we don't have any proposals for investment from the Chinese companies.
The biggest worry about MP is its fiscal condition. Its fiscal deficit is expected to rise to 3.49 per cent this year from 3 per cent earlier.
That is not a fair assessment of MP's fiscal strength. In 2015/16, our state had a growth rate of 10.5 per cent against the national growth rate of 7.3 per cent.We were always a revenue surplus state. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act was amended to allow states which had maintained fiscal discipline to take on more debt to fuel growth. That is what we have done and that is why the fiscal deficit has risen. MP is hungry for more growth. It is not possible to appease this hunger within existing budget limits. We need more money to lay roads, to build infrastructure and improve the lives of our citizens. We have built 160,000 km of roads. We are a responsible government and try to spend money judiciously. People also need to understand that MP has long outgrown its bimaru tag. The turnaround occurred in the past decade.If we break up your tenure in two halves, 2005-2010 and 2010-2015, the second half compares poorly with the first. Growth of the manufacturing sector was 9.5 per cent in the first, but dipped to 2.9 per cent in the second. Services sector growth also declined from 7.6 per cent to 6.3 per cent. Agricultural growth has been the saviour, rising from 3.6 per cent in 2005-10 to 13.9 per cent in 2010-15.
It is not a fair analysis. Last year, our industrial growth rate was roughly 8 per cent. The global slowdown caused a production slump in MP, too, but now we have again gathered steam. Agriculture is certainly doing well and we are trying to provide greater support to our farmers. Our assembly has passed legislation to enable contract farming and we have sent it to the Union government for approval. Earlier, the law was such that if someone tills a piece of land for three consecutive years, he acquires possession of the land. So farmers never gave land on contract at all, or else did so without any written agreement. In either case, the farmer was the loser. The new law will enable giving land on contract without losing it.