The Hindu Business Line : 'Chhattisgarh will lead in economic growth' — Dr Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister

An Ayurvedic doctor by profession, 53-year-old Dr Raman Singh took over as Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh in December 2003. In 1999, he had been elected to the Lok Sabha from Rajnangaon as the BJP candidate and inducted into the Atal Behari Vajpayee government as the Minister of State for Commerce.

"I resigned from the Union Cabinet as soon as the party asked me to take over the reins in Chhattisgarh in 2003," Dr Raman Singh said talking to Business Line at his official residence in Raipur recently. "I'm always with the organisation," he observed. Now, his mission, he says, is to establish Chhattisgarh firmly on the country's industrial map. "There is so much to do, the potential is so much but so little has been done," he said. His biggest challenge is how to handle the upsurge in Naxalite activity in the State. Fortunately, Dr Raman Singh is in best of terms with the the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

Excerpts from the interview:

How would you rate the performance of your government in past one and half years?

One and half years is not long enough a period for any government to script a major success story. But I would like to answer your question in a slightly different way. What we have been trying to do all these months is to strengthen the foundation of the State's economy so that it can achieve a big leap forward in the coming days. I'm sure we're on the right track and there is no doubt that Chhattisgarh will be in the forefront of the country's economic growth in not too distant future.

Chhattisgarh is a major iron ore-producing State. Isn't it?

Yes, we account for 20 per cent of the country's total iron ore reserves.

You must surely be aware of what other iron ore producing States are demanding from the Centre?

I'm not only aware of the demand, but also fully supportive of it. We in Chhattisgarh get a royalty of Rs 18 per tonne for lumps and Rs 6 per tonne for fines. Are these any rates? Even dust and sand are costlier. Worse, these rates have remained unchanged for past several years. The present arrangement should be scrapped in favour of royalty on ad valorem basis. We've have taken it up with the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Planning Commission.

What is your stand on trading, particularly exports, of iron ore?

I'm totally opposed to it and our government has stopped trading in iron ore for several months. But the problem is that we've no control over all the iron producing mines in the State. The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) controls 50 per cent of our mines and SAIL another 23 per cent. And we ourselves control around 25 per cent or so. We want value addition and have therefore signed MoUs with the country's leading steel producers including the Tatas and the Essar Group for setting up steel plants in our State. I'm very hopeful.

Chhattisgarh is also a major producer of coal ...

In respect of coal, we would like the Centre to take a fresh look at its own policy. The e-auctioning system, though benefiting the Central Government-owned coal companies, is hurting the industries located within our State. Under the e-auctioning system, coal is supplied to the highest bidder, who are mostly located outside the State. We are thus in an interesting situation: Ours is a major coal producing State but our people do not benefit; the beneficiaries are all outside the State. How can we allow this to go on for long?

Are you suggesting scrapping of the e-auctioning system?

No, not at all. Let us create a situation that benefits every one. This is possible if the coal companies reserve a portion of their production (that is, from certain blocks) exclusively for e-auctioning. After all, the local demand has to be met first.

But, then, the coal companies are also facing problems opening new mines due to various reasons...

Yes. There are problems of environment and of eviction and rehabilitation. The coal seams in forest land cannot be touched and perhaps rightly so. There has to be new technology whereby mining under the ground should be possible without tampering with the forest over the ground. Then there is the problem of eviction and rehabilitation of people occupying the lands identified for mining.

What about other minerals?

We have elaborate plans for judicious exploration of various other mineral deposits and their proper utilisation and these include, among others, tin, gold, bauxite and diamond to name a few and the focus of our plans is to create value addition. All the top international names such as De Beers, Rio Tinto and BHP Bilton are now diamond prospecting in the State. The country's major aluminium plant is located in our State and we have received investment proposals from several others. The State Mineral Development Corporation is working on proper utilisation of tin.

What about Value Added Tax? Chhattisgarh is one of the few States yet to implement it...

Yes, we are yet to implement VAT but it will be wrong to presume that we've any mental block in regard to implementation. If anything, we have an open mind about it. Besides, if all other states in the country decide to go ahead with it, how can we be left out? Right now we apprehend that its implementation will entail revenue loss.

We've constituted an expert committee to examine the whole gamut of issues relating to the implementation of VAT and make necessary recommendations.

You're said to be bullish about the prospect of bio-diesel ...

For the past few months, three of the vehicles attached to my office are being run on bio-diesel being produced by a pilot plant. A new plant with a capacity of 5,000 litres a day will be commissioned soon.

We plan to grow 60 million Ratanjyot plants from which bio-diesel is produced. A British firm, in partnership with an Indian outfit, too have shown interest in undertaking large-scale plantation of the same Ratanjyot.

What is the reaction of the public sector oil refining and marketing giants?

Indian Oil Corporation has promised me full cooperation. Chhattisgarh is not the only State to go ahead with bio-diesel. Others such as Maharashtra and Haryana too are active players in this field.

How attractive is Chhattisgarh to potential investors?

Very attractive and I've reasons to believe so. There are firm proposals for an additional 8,000 MW of power generation at an estimated investment of Rs 30,000 crore. Steel is another sector which holds big promise. As I've already told you, the big names in steel are coming here to invest. We have amended the State's Investment Promotion Act 2002 and included a clause that if the departments concerned fail to respond to applications for relevant clearances within the stipulated period, it will be deemed that the departments have no objection. The investments proposals are virtually pouring into the State.

Any major headaches...

The upsurge in Naxalite activities... The Naxalites are active in the tribal areas — the MCC in Sarguja and the PW in Bastar. We've worked out a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the problem on various fronts — economic, social and political. We are trying to organise and empower the local people to stand up against the violence of the militants. Our effort has not been entirely in vain. With assistance from the Centre, we are distributing iodised salt among the poor people at a heavily subsidised rate of 25 paise per kg.

The Public Distribution System in the tribal areas has been taken out of the control of the private owners and placed under cooperatives, panchayats or self-help groups. We've constituted local development authorities in the tribal areas with the participation of the local people for implementing various uplift programmes. We've so many other schemes on the anvil. But the problem is serious and complicated and, as you know, there can be no easy solution to a complex problem.

Do you get enough support from the Centre?

I get full support from the Centre in each and every matter to which I've drawn its attention. The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have visited Chhattisgarh and promised me all help. Frankly, I've no complaints.

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