Industries department officials admit that the mismatch between demand for land by corporates, especially in five-star industrial estates, and restricted supply, had created bottlenecks in industrial expansion.
To meet the demand for land from manufacturing and industrial houses looking to invest in the state, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is planning to build a bank of up to 1 lakh hectare land. This availability of land would ensure that industries can be set up faster in Maharashtra.
Industries department officials admit that the mismatch between demand for land by corporates, especially in five-star industrial estates, and restricted supply, had created bottlenecks in industrial expansion.
Since January 2015, the state government has received 18 FDI proposals from industrial groups from across the globe. This proposed investment worth Rs59,107 crore has the potential to create 1,23,340 crore jobs and includes names like Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn, Coca Cola, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp. It plans to eventually attract investments worth Rs5 lakh crore, which would give employment to 10 lakh people. These groups will need land to set up their offices and units.
"We are planning to touch 1 lakh hectare of land in one year, up from 87,000 hectare now," a senior MIDC official told dna. At present, Maharashtra has 270 industrial estates across the breadth of the state.
"Around 5,000 hectare is under acquisition," he said. The official added that the corporation was going in for consent acquisition of land from farmers and land owners since January 2014.
"We are expanding the MIDC areas in phases. However, we are leaving out irrigated land and the gaothan areas in the acquisition. Land with potential for industries is being acquired," the official said.
The MIDC, under its ease of doing business initiative, has brought down the list of permissions required for establishing an industry to just five from the 14 earlier. Now, only the lease agreement, building plan approvals, commencement certificate, mortgage with the bank are needed.
Self-certification for building plans on plots lesser than 5,000 square meters has been introduced. For the small and medium industries sector the state is trying to ensure that these plants are commissioned in one to one-and-half years.
However, Ashok Dhawale, member of the CPI-M's central secretariat, noted that a number of industries in MIDC area had shut down and questioned if this mass acquisition of land was a "back door method" for procuring land since the Centre's land acquisition bill had stalled.
The state is also keen on attracting investment in the Amravati textile park, which would help already stressed farmers in the cotton-growing regions of Vidarbha.
The state government has brought down the number of permissions required for new industries to 37 from 76 and has committed to lower it to a further 25. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and industries minister Subhash Desai have also concluded foreign tours to tap potential investors and have spoken about creating a pro-industry environment. Decisions like increasing the FSI for industries to 1 from 0.2 on agricultural lands and no-development zones and steps to cut down on "inspector raj" by departments like labour have also been hailed as being industry-friendly.
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