Mumbai: The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has planned to set up a ‘Maha-Hub’ — a startup, innovation and incubation centre — in the chief minister’s home district of Thane.
According to a government resolution issued by the state general administration department last week, a 25-hectare plot belonging to the state government at Antarli village in the Kalyan tehsil of Thane district has been identified for the project. ThePrint has seen the resolution.
Thane district is considered a major industrial hub in Maharashtra and the site selected for the centre falls in the parliamentary constituency of CM Shinde’s MP son Shrikant Shinde. Shrikant had held several meetings with the government to push the project through.
ThePrint reached Parrag Jaiin Nainutia, principal secretary of the state general administration department, via calls and text messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
A state government official told ThePrint that the government will set aside Rs 500 crore for the construction of the first phase of the hub. The general administration department has also issued orders to the Thane district administration to start the process of allotting the plot for the centre on a 99-year lease.
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Rs 5 crore seed capital
According to the government resolution, the state government will establish a company to run the start up and incubation centre on a ‘no profit, no loss’ basis.
The company’s board will comprise nine directors, including representatives of industries, investors and private equity funds, a representative of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the principal secretary of the state information technology department, and a senior director each from premium institutes such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Mumbai, and the National Law University (NLU), Mumbai.
The state government, the resolution adds, is looking to develop six lakh square feet of area for the centre in the first phase.
The company will also get seed capital of Rs 5 crore through funds of Thane’s District Planning Development Committee. The seed money will be used for preparing detailed project reports, hiring employees for the Centre, roping in consultants, architects and so on.
The Maha-Hub project will be monitored by a high-powered committee led by CM Shinde and comprising the deputy CM, the state industries minister, the skill development minister and a bureaucrat who will be the member secretary of the committee.
Other than that, the state government has also established a 13-member executive committee comprising state government officials and experts for more routine monitoring of the project.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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