Maharashtra number one state for investments:, says Subhash Desai

Mumbai: Industries minister Subhash Desai has claimed that Maharashtra is the number one state in the country in terms of attracting investment. He added that Rs 4 lakh crore in investments will come in the three to five years while the state would see investments worth Rs 31,000 crore this year.

Last week, Congress had criticised the state government, claiming that ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition took over, Maharashtra has been relegated to the third position in proposed investments. Party spokesperson Sachin Sawant had said, “On the basis of data compiled by the department of industries, it appears Karnataka is leading, followed by Gujarat.” Referring to the status of Industrial Entrepreneur Memoran-dum (IEM), investment of Rs 1.47 lakh crore was proposed in Karnataka, Rs 65,741 crore in Gujarat and Rs 25,018 crore in Maharashtra.

Mr Desai, however, claimed that filing of IEM is voluntary. “Claims on the basis on IEM data do not represent the ground reality,” he said.

The minister said petroleum refinery (proposed Rs 2 lakh crore), the metal industry (proposed Rs 10,000 crore), the electronic display panel industry (proposed rs 20,000 crore), chemical fertiliser (proposed Rs 4,000 crore), tyres (proposed Rs 8,000 crore), food processing industry (proposed Rs 1,000 crore) and textile industry (proposed Rs 1,000 crore) are not included in the IEM data.