Only a little above one-third (34.2 per cent) of the total investments in Gujarat announced during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit (VGGIS) have seen implementation, with the rest still at the “announcement” stage.

The figures revealed by a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) — the apex body of all chambers of commerce in the country — confirms The Indian Express story this year in January that barely 25 per cent of the projects pledged at the 2003, 2005 and 2007 VGGIS meets were under implementation.

The Express story was based on government’s own records, while the ASSOCHAM findings follow a study of all projects announced during the summit as of September 2009. The state government itself claims a 69 per cent success rate at the VGGIS.

ASSOCHAM submitted the study to the state government on Thursday offering to do another study to identify why projects lagged in the state. Disputing the ASSOCHAM findings, State Principal Secretary (Industries) Maheshwar Sahu said: “The finding that only 34.3 per cent of the projects are under implementation is not correct.” Despite its findings, the ASSOCHAM admitted that it was the second-best industrialised state in the country after Delhi. As per government statistics, the state economy grew at a compounded rate of 10.8 per cent between 2001 and 2008. This is far higher than other industrially advanced states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which grew at a rate of 8 per cent, 7.4 per cent and 6.1 per cent respectively. But Gujarat has to act if it is to sustain its growth rate now, the study underlined.

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