On poll eve, Gujarat vs Maharashtra narrative over mega projects
The inauguration of the first private sector military aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara on Monday led to the renewal of Gujarat versus Maharashtra narrative with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi vowing to make relocation of major projects to Gujarat a campaign issue in Maharashtra polls.
Aircraft facility moved from Nagpur
Tata-Airbus C-295 aircraft facility was supposed to be set up in Nagpur, but was shifted to Gujarat in 2022 on the eve of the Assembly elections there. — Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader
Even though Maharashtra continues to lead Indian states in FDI inflows with Karnataka and Gujarat in tow, the two western states are competing hard for major projects and investments. PM Narendra Modi has openly encouraged competition among states to woo investors.
At the root of the opposition's heartburn is Maharashtra's loss of major projects to Gujarat right within just four months of the Eknath Shinde led Mahayuti government taking charge in the state in 2022.
These projects included the Tata Airbus Manufacturing Plant unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart in Vadodara today; the Vedanta-Foxconn plant and two others worth Rs 1.80 lakh crore investment and consequential employment.
Earlier an International Financial Services Center (IFSC) was set up at GIFT City ((Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) in Gujarat -- the only such centre in India.
The finance sector is also progressively favouring GIFT City near Ahmedabad with reports suggesting that eight of the ten top Indian asset managers had shifted business to the GIFT City. The Gujarat government mega project, GIFT City spread across 886 acres, is a global financial and IT services hub, a first of its kind in India, designed to be at or above par with globally benchmarked business districts. "It has state-of-the-art infrastructure encompassing basic urban infrastructure elements along with an efficient external connectivity. Companies from financial services, technology and all other services sectors are getting attracted to it," a Gujarat government official said at a time when Mumbai's stature as India's financial capital is coming under strain with the diamond business also largely moving to Gujarat.
Today Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh flagged several projects that had gone from Maharashtra to Gujarat and accused the Shinde dispensation of "betraying state's interests".
"Tata-Airbus C-295 aircraft facility was supposed to be set up in Nagpur but was shifted to Gujarat in 2022 on the eve of the assembly elections there. One can only imagine the machinations that went on behind the scenes to ensure that Maharashtra lost out on this key investment," Ramesh said.
The BJP however dismissed the claim and cited a White Paper of the Maharashtra government which says that the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) did not sign any memorandum of understanding for procurement of land for the Tata-Airbus project.
On the establishment of an International Financial Services Center (IFSC) at GIFT City Gujarat, MVA allies asked why such a centre had come up only in Modi's home state when former PM Manmohan Singh in 2006 had begun the effort to set it up in Mumbai and land in Bandra Kurla Complex had been set aside for the IFSC.
The BJP countered this saying India's first IFSC was approved at the GIFT city in 2011, when Manmohan Singh was PM and "it was chosen looking at the dynamic opportunities and future-ready infrastructure being built under then CM Narendra Modi’s leadership."
The Congress also flagged how Mumbai's diamond trading mettle was being undercut by Surat's new Bharat Diamond Bourse.
On the relocation of Vedanta-Foxconn chip factory from Maharashtra to Gujarat in 2022, the BJP again pointed to a white paper by the Maharashtra government which says that the Uddhav Thackeray led MVA government had refused to consider or discuss the Foxconn project.
“A meeting of a high-powered committee took place on March 17, 2022, under the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA. However, it did not take up the project for discussion," the white paper states.
