Pune: Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and state industries minister Uday Samant on Sunday held a nearly three-hour meeting with industrialists and other stakeholders to address infrastructure and other issues affecting the Chakan MIDC area.The meeting came days after several industrialists threatened to shift their units out of Chakan over poor road conditions, traffic congestion and inadequate infrastructure. While Samant was present in Chakan, Shinde joined the meeting virtually.Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Samant said agencies concerned were told to resolve the issues faced by industries and address their infrastructure requirements within the next 10 months.Issues related to roads, traffic, road widening, land acquisition, potholes and police matters were discussed, with immediate decisions taken on some of them, he said.“The major problem was traffic congestion. So, it was decided that all potholes should be filled before Aug 31,” Samant said.Several roads to be developed by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) have already been approved, and the tendering process was completed in Jan. However, despite work orders being issued, work on the ground has not started.“Officials have therefore been told to blacklist such contractors,” he said.“Some proposals related to new roads were also approved. Besides, PMRDA has been told to initiate the tendering process for setting up a solid waste management (SWM) plant, and MIDC will provide land for it within a week,” the minister added.Samant further said roads in the MIDC area could be widened by three metres on each side and that a decision had been taken to undertake the widening.On water supply issues, he said water supply minister Gulabrao Patil would hold a separate meeting with industrialists next week.“The district collector has been told to hold an ‘Udyog Darbar’ every Friday to hear the grievances of industrialists from Chakan and other industrial areas in Pune district,” Samant said.He added that he, along with senior officials, including the chief secretary and MIDC CEO, would spend a full day every two months meeting industrialists and reviewing their problems. “A similar mechanism would be introduced across Maharashtra, with the next such meeting planned in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar,” he said.The minister said the meeting was positive and none of the industrialists raised the issue of shifting out of Chakan. “Industry representatives instead told us that the number of industries in Chakan and surrounding areas is growing by nearly 30% annually,” he said.Lok Sabha MP and NCP (SP) leader Amol Kolhe and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Babaji Kale, along with representatives of industry associations and officials from various government agencies, were also present at Sunday’s meeting.Industries urged to build housing for workers; MIDC ready to provide landIn order to reduce the daily commute for workers travelling from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, industries have been encouraged to form clusters and develop housing facilities for their employees.“If five or six companies come together and form a cluster, they can build housing for their workers. MIDC is ready to provide land for this purpose. The initiative can be replicated across Maharashtra,” Samant said.On roadside parking of heavy vehicles, Samant said MIDC was told to identify unused open spaces in the industrial belt that could be used for parking temporarily until dedicated truck terminals are developed.He said companies that had purchased large parcels of land had given written undertakings to make their own parking arrangements. “If vehicles belonging to such companies are found parked on roads, action will be taken. If the situation does not improve, legal cases will also be registered,” he said.On complaints of deliberate delays by contractors, Shinde directed authorities to take action against and blacklist errant contractors from future projects. Samant said Shinde had also directed authorities to divert funds from other departments, if required.“There will be no shortage of funds for works in the MIDC area,” he said.A decision was also taken to identify land for hospitals and solid waste management facilities within the MIDC area.Responding to questions about the progress of commitments made during an earlier meeting, Samant said around Rs 410 crore had already been allocated for road works as promised. “While some projects had been completed, the remaining funds would now be utilised based on recommendations and urgent requirements instead of being spent only on the roads originally identified,” he said.High-level committee set upChief minister Devendra Fadnavis had on Friday constituted a high-level committee headed by the Pune district collector to address issues faced by industries in Chakan. Fadnavis said on Saturday that a lack of coordination among various agencies was a major reason for the problems in the industrial belt.According to the govt resolution, the committee will include representatives from the police, MIDC, Zilla Parishad, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and other agencies. An Industry Grievance Cell will also be established at the district collector’s office to receive and resolve complaints from industrialists.Samant defends Maharashtra’s business climateSamant also said he was preparing a “saffron paper” on Maharashtra’s business environment amid criticism over the state’s performance at the World Economic Forum’s Davos summit.Reacting to criticism over companies being shut down in Maharashtra, he said the figures included companies struck off for non-compliance with the Companies Act and did not necessarily represent operational industries shutting down.“Saying that 36,211 industries have shut down is misleading. We need to compare the figures with other states as well. Around 34,200 companies were struck off in Delhi, 12,000 in Tamil Nadu and 11,000 in Gujarat. This is part of the statutory process for striking off companies,” he said.Samant said Maharashtra had recorded the highest number of new company registrations, with nearly three lakh companies registered within a year as of June 6, 2026, compared with around two lakh in Delhi and one lakh in Uttar Pradesh. “Some of the companies struck off the register had zero turnover and were not operational,” he added.Last-minute makeover for roads hours before minister’s visitRoads in and around Chakan received a last-minute makeover ahead of industries minister Uday Samant’s scheduled visit, with authorities working until late Saturday and continuing repairs until Sunday afternoon to fill potholes and patch damaged stretches.Residents, however, alleged that the road repair works had been sanctioned much earlier but were neglected by the authorities, with temporary repairs being rushed through only ahead of the minister’s visit.Ganesh Botre, a Zilla Parishad member from the area, said, “Merely putting a layer of asphalt on the road will not solve the problem. The quality of work needs to be maintained instead of carrying out temporary repairs to please the minister.”Sudhir Mungse, an NCP (SP) worker, said, “For the past one month, the authorities have been carrying out only patchwork, and the pace of repairs has increased now because the minister is visiting. The quality of the repairs is such that even one spell of heavy rain could wash them away.”
