Partner govt in infra projects: State to industry

Worried about the image of the state ahead of the Invest Karnataka 2016, Industries Minister R V Deshpande on Tuesday invited companies to partner with the government instead of indulging in blame game.

He was interacting at the Invest Karnataka meet of which Deccan Herald managed to get exclusive inputs. The meet was organised by the IT department where IT honchos reiterated concerns about poor infrastructure and need to expedite Metro and other infrastructure works to ease traffic.  “Are these concerns not there in London or New York? Concerns are there in every country,’’ he said, recalling the slow traffic in New York when he last visited.

Asking industries to take pride in Bengaluru, Deshpande said people have not invested here to favour the government. “Why are you here? You are not here to do favour to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, me or IT Minister S R Patil. You are here because you know that there is an excellent ecosystem and skilled manpower,’’ he said.

He also appealed to companies not to go to media to launch a whispering campaign that they are moving out of Bengaluru. “I only request you that if you want to say something, we are available 24X7. Please come and meet us. But don’t go to press and say this industry is going, that industry is going. No industry will go...  This kind of whispering campaign will damage the reputation of the state and the country,’’ he said.

“We have tried to involve Industry in solving problems. Issues will be there and problems will crop up in future also. In the next few months to one year we will address your concerns. We will not leave any stone unturned to see that infrastructure is created,’’ he said, reiterating that the government is concerned about the issues raised by industry.

Admitting that infrastructure has not developed at the same speed at which industries and investment came, the Minister said that both industry and government were responsible for this.

“I am more concerned about what happens to the common man than to Industry. Children are not able to reach school in time because of the traffic,’’ he said, referring to the traffic woes raised by companies.

Bengaluru Development Minister K J George and IT Minister  Patil also assured the industry captains and associations that the government was aware of their problems and had already initiated steps to address them.