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The Narendra Modi government is putting pressure on the Maharashtra government to expedite various industrial projects in the State. It wants an early resolution of land acquisition related issues so that industries can take off under the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
A team of officers with deep knowledge of the law, revenue and land acquisition process is being set up so that projects do not get stalled and delayed projects get expedited.
The Prime Minister would be apprised of a ground report when he arrives in Mumbai on February 13 for a ‘Make in India’ event that is being jointly organised by the Centre, the Maharashtra government and CII.
A senior Maharashtra government officer told BusinessLine that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is regularly keeping a watch on all mega projects in the State. Land acquisition and the rehabilitation of the project affected persons (PAPs) is the most contentious issue for the State government.
The PMO wants to be apprised of the progress in projects such as the NTPC’s thermal power project in Solapur, the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport (MIHAN) project in Nagpur, defence production hubs, and Foxconn’s $5 billion manufacturing unit near Navi Mumbai and Pune, the official said.
The official pointed that in the MIHAN project, the land acquisition process was not conducted by officers of the Revenue Department but engineers from Maharashtra Airport Development Company, which led to a number of delays and litigations. In the case of the NTPC project, the land has been acquired but the rehabilitation of PAPs is still far from over, as they are still demanding huge compensation. Delays in such projects affect the morale of the industry, he said.
As land prices have risen exponentially in the last 10 years, farmers and landholders are reluctant to sell to industry. In many instances, they have unrealistic demands, that cannot be met, the official said. Actions of the land mafia, NGOs and contentious litigators only add to the delays, the official added.
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