Describing the facilities given by Punjab government as 'average',industry chamber CII today said that high prices and implementation of value added tax (VAT) has made the state backward in terms of attracting new investment. "In Punjab,facilities of investment is average. This is the reason people are investing in states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat instead of investing in Punjab," the Conference of Indian Industries (CII) Northern region chairman Vijay Thandani told PTI. "There are many sectors in Punjab where investment is required but due to high inflation compared to neighbouring states and inplementation of VAT,it is difficult to invest here",he added. Recently,while participating in a programme in Jalandhar ,Thandani had said the state lacked basic infrastructure. "Punjab lacks good road facility. Even air connectivity is not good," he had said. Earlier,Peter Sandhu,a Indian Industrialist in Canada had said," There is problem related to investment here. We want to invest here like Gujarat but government system harasses us. This is the reason that we prefer to invest in Gujarat."
