Maharashtra's new industrial policy draws flak

The Maharashtra government’s new industrial development policy has been severely criticised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI). CREDAI says that there has been insufficient allocation for residential use and lack of sops for developing the Integrated Industrial Areas (IIA) which come under the new industrial policy.

The State's new policy allows an exit route for special economic zone (SEZ) developers whose projects have got struck due to issues like land acquisition or changes in tax laws by the Union Government by converting these into an integrated industrial township project, or an IIA. Under the new policy, developers will have to use 60 per cent of total land in possession for industrial purpose while the rest can be used for residential and commercial purposes.

The earlier policy of the Union Government for SEZs stipulated 50 per cent land for industries and 50 per cent for residential and commercial purposes. However, the president of CREDAI, Lalit Kumar Jain believes the allocation for residential use is far from optimum and would lead to poor response from the developers.