When Chautala Does Dallas

Chautala’s Public Relations (PR) managers are quick to assert that the trips abroad are aimed at bringing home the dollars and pounds. But nobody is willing to put an exact figure on the actual foreign direct investments (FDI) generated.

At the end of each trip, the figures released as the expected amount of FDI are impressive — Rs 1000 crore from the first trip, Rs 3000 crore from the second (the amounts for the third and fourth trips are yet to be disclosed). But bureaucrats admit that the actual investments are much lower. So far, the trips have translated into actual FDI of about Rs 1672.46 crore in the last three years. Only a few new companies — among which are Mitsubishi Electric Automotive India Pvt Ltd, Nagata India and Napino with a total investment of Rs 50 crore — have come up with proposals. Moreover, whether this was a result of Chautala’s bid to woo foreign investors to the state or whether the companies were already on their way to the state as part of a routine expansion process is highly debatable.

But State Finance Minister Sampat Singh, who has accompanied Chautala on all his trips, is undeterred by the reality check. ‘‘We have tremendous hopes from South Africa and Japan. In fact, a few of the Japanese companies are already operating from our state and are well aware of the incentives and infrastructure being provided here. People from Sun City were so impressed with our delegation that they are likely to visit the state in the near future to ascertain the possibilities of setting up an amusement park,’’ he says. Besides, Italian company Alberto Brtuzzi has entered into an agreement with Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation and Radha Agro Wax to set up a Rs 12-crore tomato project at Saha in Ambala, which would have a daily production capacity of 200 tonnes of tomato paste, adds Singh.

But the bureaucrats tell a different story. Take, for instance, Chautala’s latest trip from November 7-23. The visit may have got him an honourary citizenship of Dallas but his clansmen are not impressed. ‘‘Ibbey ja ke kay karega udhe (What will he do by going there?’’ is the common refrain. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a delegation member admits that the trip is expected to draw a blank from the UK and US.

But Singh is quick to denounce such observations, stating that this is a transient phase and investors from these nations will soon make a beeline for Haryana.

For this, the government is largely banking on its soaring growth rate. Upon returning from his third visit on September 14, Chautala had commented: ‘‘Poore desh mein mandi hai par Haryana mein nahin (Recession has hit the entire country except Haryana’’). To its credit, the state reportedly registered an industrial growth of 5.2 per cent, the highest in the country, this year. Exports in the IT sector touched Rs 3000 crore from the Rs 400 crore during the last three years.

Besides his trips translating into very little FDI, Chautala has even been accused of going abroad to deposit money into foreign accounts. ‘‘Woh kahte hain mein phoren mein paisa jama karwane jata hoon. Woh mujhe mere khate bata dein, 90 pratishat aap rakh lein or 10 pratishat mujhe de dein (They say I go abroad to deposit money. Let them tell me about my bank accounts. They can keep 90 per cent and I’ll take 10 per cent of the money there),’’ counters Chautala.