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With the chief minister offering nothing more than empty rhetoric, the image of the state as an investment hot spot is fast fading

By Stephen David 

When Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna took over as chief minister in October last year, the first thing he did was to log on to hi-tech mode. Besides giving his colleagues a lowdown on the importance of information technology (IT), he opened a massive it expo, visited the Supercomputer Education and Research Centre at the Indian Institute of Science and undertook a crash course on handling Pentium-III laptops -- all within a fortnight of assuming office. E-governance, he believed, was a prerequisite for industrial reforms in the state.

But six months down the line, the initial fire seems to have flamed out, the e-talk, a bubble that has burst. With proposed projects either cancelled or in a state of limbo (see box), the image of a dynamic chief minister has begun to fade. And with it the reputation of Bangalore as an investment hot spot. "It was bound to happen," says a Congress leader. "Sustaining what begins with a big bang is always difficult because expectations are that much greater."

Everyone seemed to be saying that if N. Chandrababu Naidu could achieve so much in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, why couldn't Krishna? After all, Karnataka had had a headstart in many areas, among them power generation -- a hydro-electric power station was set up in Shivasamudram as early as 1902 -- and it -- the country's info-tech boom began in Bangalore in the early '80s. Even the global community believed in the promise Krishna held out and the chief minister found himself one of the privileged invitees along with Naidu at the World Economic Forum.

Last month, however, it was advantage Naidu, who not only got Bill Clinton to visit Hyderabad instead of Bangalore but also ensured that the US President lunched with Bangalore's cream of techies Azim Premji (Wipro), Ashok Soota (MindTree) and N.R. Narayana Murthy (Infosys) in Hyderabad. Tennis-happy Krishna, who refused to attend the high-powered lunch -- despite claims that US Ambassador Richard Celeste extended three invitations to him -- was content to meet the media in Bangalore in his avatar as president of the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association.

"Naturally, reforms will roll back," says one of Krishna's aides, adding that the Clinton episode is only one of the many instances reflecting the chief minister's skewed priorities. Recently, former chief minister Veerappa Moily wrote to Krishna -- who was the deputy chief minister during his tenure -- detailing the state's precarious financial position but Krishna apparently never got back to him. "Old-timers like us are available for suggestions if only they will be taken," says a slighted Moily. Other leaders point out that the wisdom of experience has no substitute and "relative newcomers" like Krishna are "too short-sighted to learn from past mistakes".

If Hyderabad and, to some extent, Chennai are eating into Bangalore's info-tech market today, it is because the Silicon Valley of India has been unable to keep pace. Over the years, Bangalore's population has grown to 5.5 million, but without a corresponding growth in infrastructure. A factor that is proving to be a major deterrent for investors. To be fair, Krishna cannot be entirely blamed for the decades of neglect but it is his empty rhetoric on making amends that is drawing flak. Moreover, with Hyderabad and Chennai going into overdrive, he can ill-afford to renege on his promises at this juncture.

Last year, Krishna pledged that he would give Bangalore one flyover per month -- there are a dozen each in Hyderabad and Chennai -- but the civic authorities are still hardpressed to complete a flyover which began during J.H. Patel's time, leave alone build a new one. The need for an international airport to ease the heavy overseas flow of software engineers from Bangalore has been felt for a long time but the Devanahalli project continues to be a non-starter. Add to this the erratic power supply, drinking-water scarcity and the garbage-disposal system, all of which are going from bad to worse. Bangalore's roads are so pathetic that Infosys' Narayana Murthy once picked up a spade and shovel to mark his protest.

Much of this is said to be the direct result of the chief minister's style of functioning. Although his Cabinet is packed with seasoned ministers, he is believed to rely on an "upstart coterie", which includes, among others, Cooperation Minister D.K. Shivakumar. There have been two rounds of reshuffle already in key bureaucratic postings, hampering progress in areas like water supply and health. The 10 task forces that Krishna set up after disbanding the State Planning Board have not done much either.

To make matters worse, Krishna is accused of being incapable of taking firm decisions. While in the Opposition, for instance, the Congress had demanded that a deal with a Malaysian firm to supply drinking water to Bangalore be scrapped, alleging that kickbacks had been received by some high-placed officials. But in the saddle now, Krishna has done nothing to indicate that the project would be cancelled.

Indecisiveness apart, Krishna's inability to meet deadlines has also proved detrimental. Says Cogentrix Managing Director Ron Somers: "He told us he would give us the necessary clearances but in reality nothing happened. The delay was costing us money and we had to leave." For Krishna, clearance is a touchy matter. Ask him why the international airport has not taken off and he will say he is waiting for the Centre's clearances. But retorts Union Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav: "From my side, everything is clear. What is he waiting for?"

While the truth remains elusive, the criticism of the chief minister is only getting more strident. In February, Krishna earned himself the dubious distinction of being the first-ever chief minister from the state to apologise in the Supreme Court for his outbursts on the Almatti dam issue despite a gag order. Such "naivete" apart, critics within the party and outside also find Krishna too elitist to understand ground realities. "How can he achieve anything unless he gets his designerwear dirty?" asks one of them. Narayana Murthy, however, differs. "We have a modern chief minister," he says, "but the name of the game is rapid action." In other words, designerwear and development need not be mutually exclusive.

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