Law and order must for growth in state: Industry

AHMEDABAD: "Each time I place new order for raw material, suppliers ask for my permanent address and whether I am planning to move to any other place in the city," says Girish Doshi, owner of Ajanta Chemicals.
Doshi, who is dealing with his Mumbai-based suppliers for last 25 years, became extra-cautious after the communal violence in the state. But he says the confidence of raw material suppliers from outside Gujarat has been shaken due to insecure environment in the state."Since there is no safety of goods moving in Gujarat, suppliers are a bit sceptical," adds Doshi.
Doshi is just reflecting what several businessmen like him have been going through in recent months because of a crisis of credibility arising out of the disturbed situation in the state.
Seconding Doshi’s viewpoint, Bipin Patel, chairman (western region), Export Promotion Council says suppliers from Mumbai and other states, on many occasion in the past, demanded full payment from businessmen in Gujarat before sending raw material.
"Even some of the top private and public sector companies having base in Gujarat asked for down-payment," adds Patel, saying that the new government should give topmost priority to law and order in the state to let industry prosper without fear.
He adds that bad law and order situation is the last thing the industry wants in Gujarat when it is already battling high power tariffs, poor road infrastructure and other industrial disputes.
According to Patel, several export-oriented units in Vatva industrial belt alone suffered a whopping Rs 100-crore loss during a 10-day closure, while estimates for the rest of lean period due to fluid law and order situation has not been compiled.
"The business community wants an assurance from the new chief minister himself that Gujarat will be a peaceful state henceforth," says Jayantibhai Patel, president, Gujarat Dyestuff Manufacturers’ Association (GDMA). There are around 750 dye-stuff manufacturers under the GDMA banner located in Vapi, Ankleshwar, Vatva, Naroda and Odhav industrial area mopping up 70 per cent of India’s dyestuff exports.
"Though we didn’t suffer direct losses, a lot of consignments of our association members got delayed due to disturbances in the state in the riots aftermath," adds Patel.
According to him, due to trouble in the last one year several visits by overseas clients did not materialise, resulting in a break in growth of new markets. "Modi should focus on means to uplift the state’s economy and strive to usher in a stable environment in the state," feels Patel.