Ashok Chavan’s Mega City will re-energise state

Finally, chief minister Ashok Chavan has something to showcase. The state government has given approval to start work on the world’s second largest ‘energy city’ project with an investment of Rs50,000 crore in Panvel, 65km from Mumbai.

On Sunday, Chavan will lay the foundation stone for the Mega City project, which will include a state-of-the-art energy city, an entertainment city, and an information technology and telecom city, spread over an area of 2,100 acres.

According to a senior secretary in the chief minister’s office, the only parallel to such a massive project including the three components of energy, telecom, and entertainment is in Qatar.

The official said the Panvel project would provide direct employment to 2.5 lakh people  and indirect employment to 5 lakh.
The chief minister, who is personally monitoring the project, held a meeting last week with senior officials to streamline coordination among the various civic and infrastructure agencies that will play roles in the project.

The Mega City project is being financed by Gulf Finance House and executed by Valuable Properties Private Limited. An insider in the chief minister’s office said, “Chavan initiated the project discussions in 2006 when he was industry minister in Vilasrao Deshmukh’s cabinet.”

Unlike the special economic zones (SEZs), which have hit  roadblocks in many places with farmers refusing to give up their land, the Mega City scheme does not face any such hurdles.

Officials in the industry and revenue ministries said, “The total requirement of land is 2,100 acres. We have already taken possession of 1,465 acres.”

Even for the remaining land, the government does not expect any opposition from local residents. The villages which have had to part with land for the project include Wandoli, Loniwali, Bherle, Chikele, Wangni-Vaze, Mohoshivkar, and Pali-Khurd.

The project, which is being funded entirely by private investors, will not need any subsidy from the state government. But the chief minister, who is also chairman of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, has committed his government to assist the project by providing infrastructure.