Chandigarh: Several companies have lined up investments worth more than Rs 40,000 crore in Haryana’s Industrial Model Townships (IMTs), which will lead to employment generation well beyond factory floors, a senior officer of the state’s industries department told The Print.
The industrial areas developed by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) are being built as complete ecosystems, bringing together industry, trade, logistics and worker facilities, he said, requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, Amit Agrawal, Commissioner and Secretary of the Industries and Commerce Department, credited Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s efforts for the uptick in investment, citing a recent visit to Singapore by a Haryana delegation, led by Saini, to attract foreign companies.
Maruti Suzuki leads the investors’ list with a plan of Rs 18,000 crore on 800 acres, the officer quoted above added. Uno Minda is betting Rs 11,000 crore on 94 acres, and ATL Rs 7,000 crore on 178 acres. Meanwhile, Flipkart is investing Rs 1,300 crore on 140 acres, and Aditya Birla Group Rs 1,140 crore on 70 acres.
Denso has committed Rs 570 crore on 37 acres, while Toyota Boshoku is set to invest Rs 400 crore on 21 acres. Amul is setting up a project for milk and dairy products with an investment of Rs 300 crore on 10 acres. Uflex is also spending Rs 300 crore on 14 acres, while Faiveley Transport is putting in Rs 200 crore on five acres.
Other companies queuing up to set up projects in the IMTs, according to the officer, include Yamaha, Escorts, Whirlpool, Indian Oil, Asian Paints, JCB, Honda, Harley-Davidson, Sun Pharma, Panasonic, Hero, DLF, Google, Tata, Nestlé, Microsoft, Samsung, Airtel and Bharat Electronics, among others—all from a wide range of sectors sectors, from automobiles and advanced manufacturing, to energy storage, rail transport and food processing.
The officer said that Haryana has six major IMTs. Manesar is the largest area-wise (4,000 acres), followed by Rohtak (3,600 acres), Bawal (3,300 acres), Kharkhoda ( 3,200 acres), Faridabad (1,800 acres) and Sohna (1,500 acres). The government has provided roads, electricity and water supply, logistics support and industrial plots in these areas, he added.
A factory does not employ just its own workers, he said. It needs technicians, engineers, machine operators, quality control staff and administrators. It also creates work linked to freight, warehousing, packaging, maintenance, construction, security and catering.
Demand for housing, transport, markets and healthcare near industrial areas also grows, the officer further said. Small and medium units gain by becoming part of the supply chains of large companies.
The government’s approach goes beyond handing out land, he said. It is working on plug-and-play facilities, clear land titles, pre-approved land use, single-window assistance and better road links. Ready-built sheds, warehouses, employee housing, hospitals, commercial centres, skill centres and startup incubation facilities are also being set up inside industrial areas.
For workers’ residential facilities, hostels are being developed for women employees in all major industrial areas. The state has also set up 10 Matri Shakti crèches, common facility centres, dormitories and single-room housing.
The Haryana government has also identified more land for expansion, the officer told ThePrint. About 5,800 acres are earmarked for IMT Kharkhoda, 5,000 acres for IMT Kosli, 2,000 acres for IMT Bawal, and an additional 1,500 acres for IMT Sohna.
A Saksham Fund with an initial corpus of Rs 500 crore will be set up to improve infrastructure in older industrial areas. Common facility centres for MSMEs and startup support are also being planned.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also Read: Haryana’s new industrial policy in the works, but industry says old problems remain unsolved
