DMIC's ambitious aura falters as anchor project eludes Auric despite 150 delegations and Davos conference

-Hope persists as many companies have shown interest, need an anchor of more than Rs 10,000 crore

VAIBHAV PARWAT

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Since the inauguration, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), one of the Central government's most ambitious projects, has been awaiting an anchor project. Even with visits of more than 150 delegations from various countries, Aura of Auric and Davos conference, the DMIC has not been able to bag any anchor project.

Auric, which was envisioned as an international industrial hub, is facing criticism for not attracting major investments in the last five years. The Central Government has approved Rs 7,947 crores for the development of Shendra and Bidkin industrial belts of DMIC. However, the government has not been successful in bringing in any major project with significant investment in the area, leading to discussions about Auric becoming a white elephant.

Despite acquiring 10,000 acres of land for the project, only 191 small and big enterprises have invested around Rs 6000 crores in the area. Experts said that unless a major project involving an investment of Rs 10,000 crore or more comes in DMIC, the money invested by the government for these settlements will not materialize.

150 delegation visits

Until now, more than 150 delegations from countries including Germany, United States, UK, Thailand, Malaysia, Korean, Taiwan, Israel, Singapore, China and Japanese have visited the DMIC and expressed their readiness to invest in DMIC. Even delegations from Hero, Honda, Mahindra, Volkswagen, LG, Nestle, SAIC and Maruti Suzuki have shown their interest in investment in Auric.

Auric hall vacant

Auric hall, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 130 crore is still waiting for corporate offices.Despite promises of using it for conferences and for setting up of offices of corporate companies, the hall, which has a world class infrastructure, is nearly vacant. The hall has remained unused since its inauguration in 2019.

No notable progress

Auric till now has attracted investments of up to Rs 5,500 crore over the last four years and has generated employment for 5,909 people. The Shendra phase of the DMIC has bagged investments of Rs 7,020 crore from 175 companies . At present, 12 companies have started production and 50 units are under construction.

Plans to boost Auric's future

The Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in a gathering held in January 2023 had stated that the future of Auric lies in the Aurangabad-Jalna belt. He announced the plans to connect Auric to Samruddhi expressway and JNPT in six months to boost manufacturing and global supply chain participation and reserve 100 plots for MSMEs in Auric.

Aura of Auric lacks Aura

A conference on 'Aura of Auric' on foreign investment and tourism opportunities was organized in March 2022 to discuss investments. Ambassadors from ten countries, including state leaders and officials from Singapore, Sweden, Germany, Korea, Israel, Netherlands and Russia visited Auric. But no positive outcome was seen from the conference.