Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Ajit Pawar, on Tuesday accused the government of falling short on its assurance that Maharashtra will receive investments from industries, after the state lost a number of major projects to other states.
Speaking at the Assembly, Pawar also urged the government to make proactive efforts to bring industrial investment to the state.
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“Since this government came to power, Maharashtra has lost out on a lot of big projects, such as Vedanta-Foxconn, Tata Airbus C-295 transport aircraft, bulk drug park and medical devices park projects. The people of Maharashtra, its youth, will not forget this,” he added.
Pawar demanded that the government should release the white paper it had promised on the issue, looking into reasons for these projects leaving the state. “Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant had announced that the government will issue a white paper. But where is it? It has still not been published or given to us. We are all waiting for it.”
Targeting Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Pawar said, “The CM had announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will ensure projects that are bigger than Vedanta-Foxconn will be brought to Maharashtra. Where is that investment?” Pawar also alleged that the memorandums of understanding, which Shinde signed with international industries in Davos at the World Economic Forum, have not yet fructified.
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“The cost of a two-and-a-half day trip to Davos was Rs 40 crore to 42 crore. Where is the investment that was promised? One month has passed and we have seen no signs of it. This was widely publicised on social media by the government, showing that it prioritised international businessmen over domestic businesses.”
Pawar was making a statement in response to Governor Rajesh Bais’ address on Monday, at the start of the Budget Session. “The (address) showed the government has no vision. We expected the address to answer many questions this government has forgotten… or… avoided.”
NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Dhananjay Munde at the state Assembly on Tuesday. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar) 
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