A new MIDC divisional office will be opened in Chakan’s industrial area after 20 small manufacturers warned that poor infrastructure and severe traffic congestion could force them to relocate, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation said.
The office is expected to allow manufacturers to handle administrative and infrastructure-related issues locally instead of travelling to the existing MIDC divisional office in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Its inauguration is scheduled to take place later this month, with Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant expected to attend.
Chakan’s industrial area covers about 7,250 acres and has been developed in five phases. Administrative responsibility currently rests with the MIDC divisional office in Pimpri-Chinchwad, located about 20 kilometres away. Industrialists have said that traffic congestion means a visit to the office can consume an entire working day.
The new office is planned at Bhamboli in Phase II of the Chakan industrial area. The building, originally intended to house an office for a deputy engineer, has already been completed. MIDC has now decided to use the facility as a divisional office.
The office will include an executive engineer, deputy engineer, junior engineers and assistant engineers, along with around 30 employees, according to Nilesh Modhve, MIDC superintendent engineer. The local office is intended to reduce the need for industrialists to travel to Pimpri-Chinchwad for routine approvals, complaints and infrastructure-related requests.
Its responsibilities will include approvals for setting up factories and their construction plans, construction of new roads, road maintenance and repairs, maintenance of sewage lines, new water-supply connections, repairs to water-supply pipelines, water-bill assessment, removal of encroachments and action on complaints from industries.
The decision follows warnings from 20 small entrepreneurs who cited the deteriorating condition of infrastructure and traffic congestion in the industrial area. The local office is expected to support faster handling of these complaints and assist with new infrastructure works being undertaken by MIDC in Chakan.
The move also comes as other government agencies expand their presence near industrial clusters. Industrialists in Pune district currently need to travel to Pune for Maharashtra Pollution Control Board-related work. A sub-regional office has already been opened in Baramati, followed by one in Chakan, with the stated objective of providing services closer to industrial areas.
The Chakan MIDC divisional office is scheduled to be inaugurated this month. Its functioning will bring engineering, approvals, utilities and grievance-related services closer to one of Maharashtra’s largest industrial areas.
