Maharashtra government expects 69 lakh new jobs in SEZs across the state

In a bid to justify revival of the government resolution (GR) seeking job reservation for locals, the state said it expected 69 lakh new jobs to be created in SEZs coming up across Maharashtra. Although the state issued the GR for the sixth time after it was formulated in 1968, mainly to steal Raj Thackeray’s political thunder, the criticism from industries forced it to soften its stand. The industries minister clarified that the GR was not mandatory but expected companies to honour it voluntary. The government, said officials, thought it necessary to revive the GR in the wake of a spate of SEZs coming up in Maharashtra over the next few years.
Maharashtra has the largest number of SEZ proposals — 133 at the last count — in the country and the state government claims they would create more than 69 lakh opportunities for employment and self-employment. Of the 133 proposals, 100 have been formally approved (which means these projects have land in possession), while 38 have been notified. Considering the employment generation potential of SEZs, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has called for setting up a special education zone that would impart special skills to improve employability of the vast HR pool in Maharashtra. “The SEZs will have their own HR skill requirements depending on the nature of industry. Maharashtra needs to seize this opportunity and create the required HR pool,” an industry official said. The Konkan region alone accounts for 64 SEZ proposals, in-cluding 17 in Raigad alone. Western Maharashtra has 44 proposals, while the industrially backward regions of Marathwada and Vidarbha have 14 and 9 proposals, respectively. The 133 SEZs are proposed to come up over 44,000 hectares. The Mumbai SEZ of Reliance-Anand Jain requires 10,000 hectares.