Maharashtra had announced that the state had received investment proposals worth Rs 7.94 lakh crore after the “Make in India” week. At a time when the entire country had garnered investments worth Rs 15.2 lakh crore, Maharashtra has got the lion’s share of it.
In a review meeting held recently in Mumbai, government officials told the Chief Minister that the state administration was in the process of granting permissions to 82 companies for various projects. Land has already been allotted to 198 of the 289 companies which have signed MoUs with the government.
Maximum progress has been observed in the manufacturing sector where land has been allotted to 69% of the companies which had applied to set up facilities in the state. Officials said that in addition to this, the state was already on its way to getting investments worth Rs 60,254 crore through nine projects in the manufacturing sector and these were already being implemented.
So far, the maximum investments have been received in the manufacturing sector, followed by the energy, housing and tourism sectors. At present, investments of over Rs 41 crore in the four projects of industrial park is also fructifying, as the companies are in the process of acquiring land and getting all the infrastructure in place.
Sources in the government said that the main priority was being given to the medium and small scale industries to boost them. Of the 2,603 MoUs signed by the state government with various industries, 2,097 were signed with the medium and small-scale industries. Regarding the supply of water and other infrastructure facilities to the MSMEs, the government has instructed the respective Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) officials to sort out the matter as soon as possible. The government has also reserved plots of land for allotment to MSMEs on priority basis.
“In all, 415 MSME projects applied for land and the government has decided to give priority to MSMEs in land allotment,” a government official said.
Soon after the “Make in India” week, Fadnavis had announced the formation of a high-level task force to track the progress of promised investments in the state. The CM had also promised a timely review of the progress made by various departments on these fronts. He had said that sector-wise task forces will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of the promised investment.
“We will ensure that the investments do not remain on paper, and that it is translated into actuality,” he had said then.
The Maharashtra government has focused on textiles and food processing. Through its “Make in India” campaign, it tried to woo investors to tap into the backward and undeveloped areas like Marathwada and Vidarbha. The government has announced the formation of 14 textile parks in the state, and has appealed to industrialists to invest in it. Raymond Industries has already committed to invest Rs 1,400 crore in Maharashtra’s textile park. Total investments of Rs 4,000 crore are expected in the textile industry alone. The motto of the government is to ensure “farm to fashion” journey of the textile in its textile park.