Why 20 units threatened to move out of an auto hub near Pune, put government on watch

While automobile giant Bajaj Auto was the first major industrial unit to come up in Chakan, followed by hundreds of ancillary units, at least 10-15 large companies have units here spread over a 4,000-hectare area now, including Bajaj Auto, Hyundai, Mercedez-Benz, Skoda, Mahindra and Volkswagen.

Over 10 lakh workers are employed in these units.

‘Does Chakan matter?’

This monsoon, visitors to Chakan were greeted by potholes and craters across both the key roads leading to the MIDC area, as well as the arterial stretches. Traffic jams extended to kilometres, while waste lay rotting on the sides of roads, along with heavy vehicles, with few dedicated parking spaces.

Residents such as Santosh Yelwande, of Kharabwadi in Chakan, and Rupesh Jadhav of Nanekarwadi, talk of the situation worsening every monsoon. “’A stretch that used to take us 20-25 minutes now takes two-three hours,” says Jadhav.

Pointing out the number of jobs provided by Chakan’s units and the revenue generated to the tune of “Rs 6 lakh crore annually”, Chakan Industrial Association president Shantanu Kulkarni says: “We contribute estimated Rs 1 lakh crore in GST per year, besides about Rs 13,000 crore in income tax annually. The SME turnover, from the share of total revenue, stands at Rs 2 lakh crore… Despite this, does Chakan matter or not? For years, it hasn’t seemed so.”

The state of garbage. (Express Photo by Manoj More/Enhanced using AI)

He talks of daily power cuts running “over four hours” hitting operating costs and delaying deliveries, and a mismatch in road planning. “An MIDC road that is 70 metres wide in some stretches connects to an approach road just 8 metres wide, making commuting nearly impossible for the area’s large workforce.”

Dhananjay Shedbale, the owner of Deeksha Export Pvt Ltd, which has been operating in Chakan for 19 years and was among the 20 units that threatened to move out, says: “We get water for just over one hour. Sometimes there is no supply, without any notice… Several companies depend on tankers and end up halting water-intensive production.”

MIDC Executive Engineer Prakash Bhadange denies any water shortage. “We supply 30 MLD (million litres daily) water to Chakan MIDC. And this is sufficient,” Bhadange insists.

On power cuts, Shedbale says: “Be it operation, maintenance or distribution, there is a problem on every front… The power system badly needs an upgrade.”

Executive Engineer Sandhya Banmikar admits that the current installed capacity “falls short of expectations of industrialists”. “Two new substations and two additional transformers are planned to increase the capacity.”

The decision to warn the government that they may relocate was not taken lightly, Shedbale says. “For over 14 months, we have been approaching several authorities, from the Chief Minister to Pune’s Divisional Commissioner Office, with little response.”

‘Severe infrastructure gap’: CM

The ultimatum by the Chakan firms was cited by the Opposition as evidence of the Maharashtra government’s failures. NCP (SP) national president Sharad Pawar urged the state government to act immediately to “protect Maharashtra’s industrial strength”. “We have always been an industry-friendly state,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut accused the Fadnavis government of “failing” industrialists. “The Mahayuti government simply does not care for industries. It just wants to milk them,” he said.

After Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis admitted “a severe infrastructure gap”, Industries Minister Uday Samant visited the MIDC area on August 16. Soon after, the government announced a 14-member committee to tackle Chakan’s issues, headed by the Pune District Collector as chairman and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissioner as co-chairman.

On a visit to Pune, Fadnavis said that apart from fixing immediate problems, his government was working out a long-term plan to convert MIDC areas into full-fledged industrial townships.

Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi said measures to improve facilities such as roads, waste collection, power and water were on their way. “Only 10 per cent of the Chakan MIDC area has streetlights. Besides, most roads have encroachments… Henceforth, things will be drastically improved.”

According to him, it was “poor coordination” between government agencies – from the MIDC, road and water authorities, to municipal and panchayat bodies – that had hit Chakan’s plans. “We take the blame upon ourselves. We did not ensure proper coordination,” Dudi said.

In the works is a plant that would be able to process 100 tonnes of waste generated by Chakan industrial units, two municipal councils and 19 villages; a meeting the coming week to discuss the water issue; and plans to make the Pune-Nashik highway a green corridor.

It happened in Hinjewadi

Last year, waterlogging during monsoons had prompted IT units located in the tech hub of Hinjewadi near Pune to threaten to shift to Bengaluru. At the time, the then Deputy CM Ajit Pawar had stepped in to reassure the firms, specifically directing officials to work on widening roads.

PMRDA officials claim that, unlike last year, this year there were hardly any complaints of waterlogging in the Hinjewadi area. An official said: “We have a concrete plan concerning roads and vehicular traffic ready, which we will be rolling out in September.”

Pavanjit Mane, who heads the Forum for IT Employees in Hinjewadi, says the problem of waterlogging is down but hardly removed. “The government has failed to keep its word.”

Another promise, of road widening, is at a halt, says Mane. “’The space for widening was acquired by the government but people are protesting complaining inadequate compensation. In effect, even after the threat by IT firms to shift out of Hinjewadi, not much has happened in the past year.”

The Hinjewadi example is very much before the Chakan Industrial Association. “For now, the 20 industries have decided not to relocate from Chakan. They will wait till the 10-month deadline given by the government. In case things do not improve, the industries will take a call. More units will then follow suit,” says president Shantanu Kulkarni.