West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar leaves no occasion to point out irregularities in the state administration and has been at loggerheads with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, amongst others in the state. On Monday, a letter by Finance Minister Amit Mitra dated Septmeber 24 was made public.
In the four-page letter, Mitra lashed out at the Governor saying that the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) has not been a washout all these years.
This was in reply to Governor Dhankhar’s letter in August questioning the outcome of the BGBS and whether there were actually any investments made and jobs created.
“You are aware that when we took office in 2011, our government inherited a massive debt burden. The economy was in doldrums, and an unprecedented capital flight had taken place from our state. Within a few years, we were able to put the economy back on the track, the Debt-GDP ratio was brought down steadily, and green shoots of new investments in Small, Medium and Large Industries had begun, thereby bringing in government revenue buoyancy and employment, as well,” Mitra said.
The letter went on to prove how the BGBS has received many accolades nationally and internationally for its unique innovative approach in attracting investments from across the nation and from all corners of the world. The letter also spoke about bringing out the proactive nature of the government to attract investments and thereby, generate employment.
As for the figures, cumulative investments proposals received in BGBS in 2015 till 2019 are of Rs 12,32,603 crores and that around 50.27% investment proposals between BGBS 2015 and BGBS, 2018, went into implantation mode, Mitra said.
"For BGBS 2019, already Rs 71,646 crore is under implementation. The employment generated through these investments is to the tune of 28 lakh already," Mitra added.
Mitra went on to speak about the state GDP having climbed up from Rs 4.6 lakh crores in 2010 to Rs 12.5 lakh crores in 2019-20. Tax collection has grown of the state has grown from Rs 21,228 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 65,806 crore in 2019-20.
While the letter listed out other relevant figures too, the state finance minister left no stone unturned to hit in a terminology that he knows best, keeping aside a direct political war of words.
All in all, the message sent out was, Bengal means business and that the BGBS is not an eyewash of the government’s efforts to create a conducive environment to attract businesses into the state.
