Shimla, Oct 20 (IANS) The Congress will permit FDI in multi-brand retail in Himachal Pradesh if it comes to power, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said here Saturday.
"Right from the farm up to the stores, whatever is produced in Kinnaur (district) can reach ports for destination abroad," Sharma told reporters while defending the decision to allow foreign investment in the retail trade sector.
He said for the hill state, the country's fruits and vegetable hub, "Needs food value chain infrastructure to minimise post-harvest losses".
"The Congress government (in Himachal Pradesh) will create integrated infrastructure through domestic and foreign investment," the union minister said.
Sharma was in the state to canvass for the Congress for the assembly polls slated for Nov 4.
He said the neighbouring fruit-growing states of Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir have expressed support for the FDI policy.
"The BJP government here has ignored the interests of the growers," Sharma, who also holds industry portfolio, said.
"It's not the colour of the money which matters. Whether it's euro, dollar or rupee, it's the benefit to the locals which matters. It's the need of the country," Sharma said.
Expressing surprise over criticism by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal over FDI, Sharma said: "Earlier, Himachal and Gujarat were the only two BJP-ruled states that were in favour of FDI in retail during the first stage of consultations. Later, acting on the directions of their national leadership, they opposed it. It's purely a case of political opportunism."
At the same time Sharma stressed that the implementation of FDI has been left entirely to the states. "Those do not want to implement it, it is their decision and we respect it," he said.
Taking a jibe at Dhumal, Sharma said the central government has provided a financial assistance of Rs.17,000 crore in the past five years in various centrally sponsored schemes and the state had failed to utilise the funds properly.
"We have also received complaints that the funds have been diverted (to other projects) and the BJP government has even changed the names of some of the central schemes to suit their vested interests. It's not fair," he alleged.
Sharma also took pot-shots at Dhumal for presenting a wrong picture on the withdrawing a special industrial package granted to the state by the central government.
"The industrial package is alive till March 2013. It's not dead. Except for the central excise duty exemption, the industry will continue to get other benefits like income tax and capital and transport subsidy," he added.
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