New road for Dahegaon will pave way for Infy unit at Mihan

NAGPUR:The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) will now build a road so that IT major Infosys can start construction at the site acquired it in Mihan-SEZ.
The 1.5km road will connect Dahegaon village to the outskirts. So far, residents of this village are using the old road, which runs through the land acquired by Infosys. The company has informed MADC that till the villagers continue using the road it may not be able to start construction of its software unit at Mihan.
MADC has agreed to build a road to Dahegaon by circumventing the Infosys plot. The new road, though not a tarred one, is going to be shorter than the existing one, said a source in MADC. The old road, which goes through Infoys, is a WBM structure that is stronger, said sources. However, it is expected to solve the problem. MADC sources say it is hoped that now Infosys will begin construction in this week.
Infosys had acquired 142 acres of land in Mihan-SEZ in 2012. It never started work on the site. But a ground breaking ceremony was held in February 2014, in the presence of state’s former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Infosys’ executive chairman Narayan Murthy.
Murthy announced that work on the first phase will begin soon and ultimately the project will create 5,000 direct jobs. Subsequent delays on the part of the company had left MADC worried, prompting it to send reminders to Infosys.
Later, Infosys pointed out that construction on the site was not possible as the road was used as a thoroughfare by Dahegaon residents.
Dahegaon is among the villages to be relocated to pave way for Mihan project. The residents have been granted pots at an alternate site. Each project affected person (PAP) also gets Rs1 lakh for building new homes or making additions to the dwelling units provided by MADC.
However, shifting has been slow. When TOI visited the village in April this year the locals said it may take at least six months for all of Dahegaon to shift. MADC sources say now almost 75% of the villagers have shifted.
MADC officials, however, did not divulge much about the cost of the road, saying that it is only going to be a rudimentary structure.
MADC was trying to woo Infosys since the time Mihan-SEZ began taking shape. Even as several other IT majors acquired land in the SEZ, Infosys was the last to check in. It has been granted a co-developer status, which means it can develop the area to let it out to other IT companies too.
CHOPPER UNIT IN THE WORKS
US-based Swift Aviation is planning to start a helicopter making unit at Mihan-SEZ. The project is being funded by private equity Alcor Funds. The funding arrangement is still being worked out, after which a final decision may be taken, said sources privy to the development.
It is learnt that Alcor Funds representatives held a couple of rounds of negotiations with MADC. The company is looking for 200 acres of land to set up a unit to make small helicopters and drone aircraft. A representative of Alcor Funds refused to comment, saying that the project was confidential.