White Paper on Maha Loss of Projects: State Blames MVA; Aaditya Thackeray Slams Shinde-Fadnavis Govt

Even as Maharashtra’s Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government tabled a ‘white paper’ on the loss of the Vedanta Foxconn and other mega projects on Friday, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) UBT leader and former Minister Aaditya Thackeray slammed it as a “chronology of their failure”.

Industries Minister Uday Samant, who was cornered by the opposition last week, had assured that the government would bring in a ‘white paper’ to clear the air. On Thursday evening, the state tabled the 12-page report, which focuses on the factors that led to the Vedanta-Foxconn project being relocated outside of Maharashtra.

OPPN ALLEGATIONS FALSE: WHITE PAPER

The ‘white paper’ tabled by the state government talks about four projects — Vedanta Foxconn, Tata Airbus, Saffron and the Bulk Drug Park projects. It blames the previous Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) government for the loss, claiming they didn’t take the decision in the time which caused the delay.

The white paper also alleges the MVA government didn’t see projects such as ‘Tata Airbus’ and ‘Saffron project’ from the point of view of ‘investment’. The high-powered committee of the MVA didn’t take decisions regarding the concessions to be given to all these projects.

The white paper states: “The high-powered committee of the MVA government didn’t make any decision regarding concessions to the Vedanta Foxconn project in its meeting on March 17, 2022, while the Shinde-Fadnavis government in its meeting on July 15, 2022 offered several concessions, including tax rebate and then invited the Vedanta group twice for signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). However, since the MOU was never signed, it would be wrong to say that the project went out of the state.”

The white paper also states that in case of the Tata Airbus company, neither was an MoU signed with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), nor was an application demanding land for the project in the state filed. Hence, there was no correspondence made from the industries department with the company. “The allegations levelled by the opposition are false that the project was lost due to the incumbent government. Same is the case with the Saffron project, as the company had not moved any application seeking land with the MIDC or had any discussion or correspondence with the industries department.”

It stated: “On July 5, 2022, after his meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi, CEO Olivier Andriès had announced in Delhi that the company would be setting up its facilities in Hyderabad. The MIDC had not discussed the project with the company or the defence ministry.”

Regarding the Bulk Drug Park, the industries department, in the white paper, said, “Thirteen states had submitted a proposal for this project, but Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh states were selected by the Centre. Now, the State Government of Maharashtra will complete the Bulk Drug Park project by utilising its own funds.”

THE ATTACK

In a series of tweets, Thackeray said, “The ‘white paper’ released on the four mega industries going out of Maharashtra is nothing but a chronology of the failure of the Khoke Sarkar and the industry’s absolute lack of trust in its leadership. The white paper, while mentioning most dates and facts, compels one to read the most evident fact, the Mindhe-BJP’s hatred for Maharashtra and how industries were sent to another state, once the khoke sarkar was formed. The industry has no confidence in the politically unstable state that gang of gaddars wanted to make it into.”

“The state unfortunately has an absolutely incapable illegal CM, who has pushed away industry after meeting them. It proves how during the MVA, an industry that had gone into advance level talks with the @midc_india, shifted its base as soon as it met the leadership of the illegally formed khoke sarkar. All in all, I wonder whether this report was released to rub salt on the wounds of the unemployed youth in Maharashtra, or to simply prove that the state has an incapable CM and a clueless industries minister. Looking at their record as placed officially now, both would have no place in a cabinet that works for Maharashtra. This engine of GoM, taken over with hostility is a failed one,” he said.