UP govt must set up special team to monitor projects: Assocham

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government should set up a Special Monitoring Committee to ensure timely implementation of 1,050 projects worth of about Rs 9 lakh crore, apex industry body Assocham has suggested.

"Even if 50 per cent projects get implemented, it will help UP generate around 1 lakh direct and 1,50,000 indirect job opportunities," Assocham said in a study titled 'Uttar Pradesh: Economic Growth and Investment Performance Analysis'.

The study, released by Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat here on Thursday, stated that as of 2016-17, 606 projects worth over Rs 6 lakh crore were under implementation in UP.

"Over the years, under-implementation rate has increased sharply from its lowest level of 52.4 per cent in 2011-12 to 70.2 per cent in 2016-17. If we compare this with all-India average under-implementation rate, UP's under-implementation rate is much worse during most of the period except 2011-12," it said.

Sector-wise, irrigation has most projects that are under-implementation (99 per cent), followed by mining (91.5 per cent), construction and real estate (90 per cent),

electricity (68 per cent) and non-financial services (63 per cent).

A higher under-implementation rate implies that most of the projects or outstanding investments are in process and are yet not completed, it said, adding that a higher under-implementation rate does not augur well as actual benefits of an investment are only derived upon completion.

The study flagged that projects with huge investments that are under different stages of implementation have been a major concern for policymakers across India as the Centre and states have been taking various initiatives to reduce such investment projects both in terms of number and value.

Releasing the report, Rawat said the current UP government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should take up the implementation of projects on a war footing "as it will further serve as an incentive for the industry and help the state attract private investors in larger numbers, thereby leading to holistic growth and development of India's largest state".

He further said the state government must ensure speedy implementation of projects by addressing environmental, land acquisition and other related issues proactively to balance interests of all stakeholders.

According to the study, prepared by Assocham's Economic Research Bureau (AERB), UP accounts for about 5 per cent in total live investments worth of over Rs 177 lakh crore from domestic and global investors representing both public and private sectors across India.

As far as economic performance is concerned, Uttar Pradesh is India's fourth largest state in India in terms of economic size with only Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat ahead of it, the study stated.

While the state's economic contribution declined from 8.3 per cent in 2011-12 to 7.9 per cent in 2014-15, it recorded a stable economic growth till 2016-17. While the state's economic growth trailed all-India economic growth during FY12 -FY16, it surpassed India's in 2016-17, it said.

Ensuring effective power supply and luring more private players to invest in the electricity sector, adopting a cluster-based development approach, promoting job creating industries like food processing, tourism, MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and improving co-ordination among government departments are among key suggestions offered by Assocham to the state government to enable state emerge as a front-runner.