Maharashtra loses three major projects to Gujarat

The Opposition took a jibe at the Shinde government following the Centre's announcement that Tata-Airbus C-295 transport aircraft project would be set up in Gujarat

The Eknath Shinde government has drawn flak from the Opposition for losing big investments and projects to Gujarat and other states. The Opposition, especially the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, has been attributing this failure to the incompetence of Chief Minister Shinde.

While the government is yet to recover from the Vedanta-Foxconn project loss, now the Tata-Airbus aircraft project has been shifted to Gujarat. This development has once again given an opportunity to the Opposition to point fingers at the Shinde-led government.

Also Read | With Tata-Airbus going Vedanta-Foxconn way MVA flays Shinde-Fadnavis govt over ‘failures’

Tata-Airbus aircraft project

The Opposition took a jibe at the Shinde government following the Centre's announcement that the Tata-Airbus C-295 transport aircraft project would be set up in Gujarat.

A consortium of Airbus and the Tata group will manufacture C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Vadodara in Gujarat, the Defence Ministry said, announcing the Rs 22,000 crore project where a military plane will be produced in India for the first time by a private company.

Former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on October 27 accused the Shinde government of not being serious about the state's progress and criticised it for "failing to protect the state's interests".

Also Read | Pact to set up Tata-Airbus aircraft project in Gujarat inked during MVA rule: Maharashtra minister Samant

Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, a loyalist of Uddhav Thackeray, claimed that the shifting of the project was an effort by the Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party government to ensure the victory of the BJP in the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls.

Vedanta-Foxconn project

The Shinde government came under fire in September after losing the mega Vedanta-Foxconn project to neighbouring Gujarat.

In June, the Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group and Taiwan-based electronics manufacturing giant announced plans to set up a facility at Talegaon in Pune, with an investment of Rs 1.63 lakh crore. Vedanta is headquartered in Mumbai. However, the facility will now be set up in Gujarat.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) lashed out at the Shinde-Fadnavis government for missing out on the project because of sheer mismanagement and called it “a betrayal of the people” of Maharashtra.

Bulk Drug Park

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 13 laid the foundation stone of a Bulk Drug Park in the Una district during his visit to poll-bound Himachal Pradesh.

The Bulk Drug Park will be built at a cost of more than Rs 1,900 crore. The park will help reduce dependence on API imports. It is expected to attract investments of around Rs 10,000 crore and provide employment to more than 20,000 people.

Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray expressed his discontent saying, “After the loss of the Vedanta-Foxconn project, the bulk drug park that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had worked on for so long has gone to three states – Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.”

(With agency inputs)