Patna, Jan. 7: The Nitish Kumar government may have been claiming that it received private investment proposals of more than Rs 1.9 lakh crore during its first tenure, but the flip side of the story is that investment barely worth Rs 1,500 crore has translated into reality.

Majority of the investment proposals even got the cabinet nod four years ago but it has not made much headway till date. Though some of the small projects, barring exceptional big industrial projects, have been actualised on the ground but umpteen projects are stuck in limbo.

Some of the industrial projects which have successfully been established in the state over the past five years are a tractor factory by Sonalika Tractors at Fatuha, GISCO, a steel company, at Bihta, makhana producing Sudha Shakti factory all in Patna, HLL’s franchisee’s detergent power manufacturing unit at Hajipur among others.

The state government’s website showed that the major bottlenecks, which the state has received, are in the filed of power plants and sugar factory for ethanol production.

There are more than two dozen proposals for setting up sugarcane-based ethanol manufacturing units, which would have brought massive investment to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore apart from creating thousands of employment opportunities.

However, the Centre brought amendments in the sugarcane control order, saying that sugar factories cannot produce ethanol directly from sugarcane thus jeopardising the prospect of Rs 20,000 crore investment in this field alone.

Some of the companies, which are keen to make investments for setting up ethanol factories are Rajshree Sugars and Chemical Limited, Coimbatore, Dhampur Sugar Mills, Delhi, Indian Gasohol Limited, Tamil Nadu, Kamlapur and Industries Limited, Calcutta.

A few days back, even the chief minister, at a function reminded the Centre indifferent policy towards the state.

The private investment proposals vis-à-vis power plants could not take off due to the problem involved in the process of acquisition and coal linkages. Around two dozen proposals from private entrepreneurs to set up power projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore to generate around 20,000MW were made to the state investment promotion board.

Some of the companies such as Jas Infrastructure (2640MW), Adhunik Power & Natural Resources (1320MW), Subhash Projects & Marketing Ltd (1200MW), India Power Corporation (1320MW).

The state industries department principal secretary, C.K. Mishra, told The Telegraph: “It is not that none of the projects have been actualised at the ground level. Some of them have started operations.” It is not necessary that all projects should translate into reality. Our role is that of being a facilitator. The delay in the commissioning of these projects could be because of the fact that some of them are in the process of land acquisition or some are in the process of having financial tie-ups.”

On the same lines, the industry body said it was not the government’s policy that was coming in the way. “Many projects cleared by SIPB and passed by the cabinet have actually started operations.

The proposals for power plants and ethanol-producing units are in limbo because of the Centre’s apathetic role in granting coal linkages and amendment into the sugarcane control order,” CII Bihar State Council president Satyajit Kumar Singh told The Telegraph.