MUMBAI: Maharashtra has lost its economic supremacy and its growth has stalled in past four years state Congress chief Ashok Chavan said on Tuesday. Shiv Sena minister Subhash Desai, however, defended the government saying that half of the foreign direct investment in the country has come to Maharashtra alone.
"Maharashtra has lost its premier position in industrial investments. Gujarat is benefiting at the cost of Maharashtra," Chavan said while Fadnavis government responsible for the decline in industrial investments into Maharashtra.
He even accused Fadnavis of remaining silent on any issues involving Gujarat. "Over the past four years, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the state has slipped to the third position - behind Karnataka and Gujarat," said Chavan. In 2016, Karnataka received the highest industrial entrepreneur memoranda (IEM) funding at Rs. 1,54,173 crores. Gujarat came in second with an investment of Rs. 56,156 crores. Maharashtra was third with an investment of only Rs. 38,193 crores. In subsequent years, Maharashtra has continued to remain at the third position - recording some of the lowest industrial investment growth levels in decades.
"The government thinks we only keep criticizing them. But these are the statistics. How can they speak of Magnetic Maharashtra without delivering upon their promises?" asked Chavan. Shiv Sena too is equally responsible for Maharashtra's decline, Chavan said.
"Under Stand Up India, each bank branch was supposed to give loans to one woman and one member of the Dalit and Adivasi community. The government expected to reach out to 22,890 borrowers - but had only reached out to 3,430 borrowers. This is a shameful 14.98 per cent success rate," Chavan said while quoting the Bank of Maharashtra presentation at SLBC (State Level Bankers' Committee) meet in August this year.
"Dalits, Adivasis, and women have been cheated by this government. They were promised loans up to Rs. 1 crore - but the average loan amount has only been between Rs. 16 to 17 lakh," he added. When asked about the allegations, industries minister Sibhash Desai said that out of over Rs 8 lakh crore worth of MOUs signed during Makin In India summit in 2016 over Rs 4 lakh crore worth of MOUs have already been fructified. He also said that the allegations being made by the Congress have all come out of frustration.