The Maharashtra government is optimistic about attracting and inviting new investments to the State as its policies are more industry-friendly and offer ease of doing business, says Minister of Industries Uday Samant said.
Though the multi-billion Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant was slipped out of Maharashtra, Mr. Samant, in an exclusive chat with The Hindu, said that there were several other projects in the pipeline and even Vedanta Resources Limited had announced that they would invest in the State.
“We offer the best industry-friendly policies which investors are keen on coming to the State,” he said.
Besides Mumbai, the State has well-established industrial clusters in Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur. The eco-system is well developed with the availability of manpower resources, raw materials and proximity to developed markets.
Mounting a tirade of sorts against the Uddhav Thackeray-led previous Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Industries Minister said it was their (MVA) sheer inefficiency that had resulted in the non-competitiveness of the State in losing to Gujarat.
“The MVA is solely responsible for losing out Vedanta-Foxconn megaproject,” he alleged.
He also said that he was scheduled to visit New Delhi on Wednesday to pitch the case of Maharashtra to the Central government in seeking investments. “I’m going to meet Union Minister Nitin Gadkari regarding the multi-modal logistics parks and will also meet others at the Centre to discuss the investments to Maharashtra,” he said.
Cabinet expansion likely
The Maharashtra State Cabinet is likely to expand during the Durga Navratri days beginning September 26, if one were to go by the strong buzz in the ministerial circles. It is learnt that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction is also set to get a lion’s share. This is also seen as a major development in view of the forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections as the Shiv Sena is expected to play a major role in garnering a majority of seats.
“Only the Chief Minister Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis can comment on the Cabinet expansion,” the Industries Minister added.
