The Maharashtra government has admitted serious infrastructure gaps and set up a high-level panel to resolve them after pressure from companies expressing their displeasure over potholed roads and traffic snarls in Pune's Chakan industrial belt, reports the Economic Times.
The opposition has been quick to target the government over this issue, prompting authorities to take immediate action.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis admitted on Friday that there were serious infrastructure issues and promised relief. Industries minister Uday Samant visited the Chakan Industrial Belt area and met senior officials and representatives of industrial associations, and Deputy CM Ekanth Shinde joined the discussions through video call.
This comes after more than 20 companies said that they have decided to shift their factories to Khandala in Pune district due to severe traffic congestion and inadequate infrastructure in the Chakan Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).
Shinde directed the administration on Sunday to prioritise filling potholes in the area, according to an official release. Shinde also added that the MIDC would make land available for a solid waste management project, a police station, a fire station and an electrical substation, and that the development plan for Chakan city would be approved at the earliest.
The deputy CM instructed officials to “implement short, medium and long-term measures to resolve the traffic congestion faced by industries in Chakan”, according to the release.
A serious matter
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar last week urged the Maharashtra government to take urgent steps to retain industries and protect jobs. He called the decision by the 20 companies employing 2,000 workers a “serious matter”.
He said on X, “Industries should not be forced to relocate, employment opportunities should be protected and the industrial strength of the state should be maintained.”
After visiting the area on Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said that as many as 5,000 direct and indirect jobs would be lost if companies in the Chakan industrial area decided to shift operations. He claimed that “infrastructural mess, corruption, administrative mess and intra-and-inter-department rivarlies” are among the reasons behind industries moving out.
The companies' grievances have prompted the Opposition to target the government, stating that recent data in Parliament showed that 36,211 private companies in Maharashtra have shut down in the past 5 years.
