With Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik embarking on a week-long official tour to Japan on Tuesday, the State unit of the Congress party came down heavily on the BJD government and questioned how much investments the visits have fetched so far.
Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Bijay Patnaik shot some questions at the government. He asked how much investment CM Naveen managed to bring to Odisha from his foreign tours to Rome, Dubai and recently to Japan.
Citing an RTI report, Bijay Patnaik said, “Since the inception of Make In Odisha in 2016, only five foreign investors have actually invested in the State with a total amount of only Rs 1368 crore.”
“While the government claims to have attracted nearly Rs 16 lakh crore as investment proposals from within the country and abroad, the exact figure of investment on the ground is yet to be announced by the government,” said Bijay Patnaik.
“However, the foreign investment since 2016 stands at a meagre Rs 1368 crore which does not justify CM Naveen’s multiple foreign tours including the current one to Japan,” he said.
“Another RTI report said Rs 20.79 crore was spent for organising Make In Odisha Conclave in 2016. The amount rose to Rs 34.51 crore in 2018. And the money spent in 2022 to host the conclave is yet to be announced by the government. Despite spending crores of rupees, no significant investment in Odisha could be seen,” Bijay Patnaik added.
"The government said 84 projects were grounded in 2016 with total employment opportunities of 80,000 and 202 projects were implemented which provided employment to nearly 2.5 lakh people of Odisha. What is the veracity of this data? Did the government actually verify the employment number or it is feeding us numbers that the corporates have given it,” asked Bijay Patnaik.
“At a time when lakhs of workers from Odisha are migrating to other States for work, these investment statistics by the government bear no credibility,” he added.
On the other hand, OPCC Chief Sarat Pattanayak alleged that the government brings out the Make In Odisha card every time an election nears. Despite CM Naveen’s frequent foreign tours, the investment from foreign countries is unsubstantial, he alleged.
"People don't want to invest in Odisha because of rampant corruption in the state. There are 32 lakh unemployed youths in employment exchange. Therefore, everyone is waiting to get an opportunity. This Japan tour is just a stunt and political campaign," said BJP MLA Mukesh Mahaling.
Responding to Bijay Patnaik, ruling-BJD MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said "He was the former Chief Secretary and Secretary to the CM and if only he can compare development during his years to the situation now, then that would be a fair assessment."