The Centre’s nod to extend the proposed Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, patterned on the lines of the Tokyo-Osaka industrial belt, up to Ludhiana has given a ray of hope to Punjab for fast development.
The state hopes that the corridor would help better flow of FDI. It may be noted that FDI inflow in Punjab and Haryana had not kept pace with many states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and even Orissa. In 2001-02 FDI to Punjab was a meager Rs 164.6 million as against Haryana’s Rs 4913.5 million. Similarly in 2002-03 Punjab had FDI of Rs 0.3 million as against Haryana’s Rs 1035.4 million. In 2005-06, Punjab’s FDI flow dipped to 191.1 million while Haryana had FDI inflow of Rs 575.4 million.
It is learnt that Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) Development Corporation will implement the project and will float special purpose vehicles for the same. To be established with Japanese help, the project would need about $ 50 billion (about Rs. 2,15,000 crore) and come up along the proposed Delhi-Mumbai dedicated rail freight corridor.
The industrial corridor would have a mega power plant, three ports and six airports apart from connectivity with the existing ports. The DMIC project would be funded through private-public partnership (PPP) and foreign investment. Apart from giving a grant, Japan would invest in the project.
The DMIC is likely to accelerate Japanese investment in the country and to develop infrastructure sector, including industrial parks, roads, ports and rail connectivity along the routes, and facilitate exports from the regions covered by the corridor.
Originally the 1,483-km corridor was to span six states? Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra?which would have been made stakeholders. However, after Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal took up the issue of extending the corridor up to Amritsar with the Prime Minister, a meeting was held between secretary for industrial policy, Ajay Dua, and Punjab chief secretary RI Singh on January 14 where the decision of extending the proposed corridor up to Ludhiana was taken.
Badal, in his letter to the Prime Minister had observed that Punjab being a border state needs special attention. The agriculture growth in the state had nose-dived and the primary sector was also showing negative growth. Therefore, it was only the industry that could help revive the economy of the state.
The export industry will get a real boost with movement of goods becoming faster through the corridor. It is likely to provide connectivity to the region with ports in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The state hopes that big industrial townships and special economic zones would come up in the corridor, which in turn will boost to the economy of Punjab.