Land acquisitions partially cleared for Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project

As part of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project, the Madhya Pradesh government has acquired government land near Ujjain and Dewas for the Knowledge City project. The state government is also buckled up to speed up project work in Ujjain as part of this project. However, all is not smooth on the project front as issues still remain with regards to land acquisition of private land owned by farmers in places like Betma, who have sought the intervention of the court to resolve the deadlock.

The Madhya Pradesh government has sought the help of the central government to sanction Rs. 300 crore towards the project. This amount would be employed to raise the infrastructure required for the project which is being implemented in collaboration with the government of Japan. A further sum of Rs. 282 crore would be required for water supply to Pithampur. The central government aid would go a long way in raising funds towards creating infrastructure for the DMIC project.

The project holds many advantages to the Madhya Pradesh government. Besides its proximity to Indore, connectivity to major market centers across India is a major advantage. It is located along the NH-3 with Indore airport in the vicinity. Apart from housing an IIM and the Centre for Advanced Technologies, Indore also has an SEZ which has been functional since 2000, to which the project region caters to. Moreover, Pithampur, which falls in the region of the project has a high concentration of vehicle industries. The state government has plans for developing the project region that passes through the state in a major way. Since the region has a rich cultural heritage over and above having some attractive tourist destinations, it will be an added incentive for investments to pour in as part of the DMIC project.

DMIC project proposals in Madhya Pradesh:

Madhya Pradesh is covered by about 1% of the influence area of the DMIC which passes through Neemuch, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar and Jhabua districts. Four development nodes have been identified in the influence area of DMIC, that include two investment regions and two industrial areas, for which adequate land is available.

Node 21, which comes under the Neemach-Nayagaon Industrial Area is an ideal location for setting up Agri Export Zones and industrial areas with a proposed Food Park at Mandsaur. Export-oriented/industrial processing units for the production of cement and chemicals is also being planned.

Node 22, which comes under the Shajapur-Dewas Industrial Area has the proposed Science City and Integrated Warehousing Hub in the region. Export-oriented/industrial processing units for seed/oil processing, leather, chemicals as well as electrical/engineering works is also being planned here. The expansion of the industrial estate center located at Dewas is also planned here. Besides, the proposed Knowledge City/ Skill Development Center would provide training in engineering/textile, science and technology.

Node 23, which comes under the Ratlam-Nagda Investment Region will have export-oriented/industrial processing units for textiles, chemicals, copper wire, seed processing/oil etc. The expansion of one or two industrial estates located at Ratlam/Nagda is planned here. An inland container depot with truck terminal and warehousing facilities at Ratlam is also planned.

Node 24, which comes under the Pithampura-Dhar-Mhow Investment Region with its proximity to steel plants at Bhilai and Nagpur. Export-oriented/industrial processing units for electrical/engineering, auto components, pharma, apparels, gems & jewelry, herbals etc is planned here. The expansion of one or two industrial estates located at Indore/Pithampur is also planned here. Besides, an integrated Agro/Food Processing Zone for processing of agricultural produce and integrating with Indore Airport for export purposes is also being planned.

DMIC Project formulation:

The approval for the DMIC project was given by the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister of India on 16th August, 2007. It is a major infrastructure project at an estimated cost of $90 billion with financial and technical assistance from the Japanese government. The project involves the development of a Multi-modal High Axle Load Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) that covers a distance of 1483 kms between Delhi and Mumbai.

Coverage:

The DMIC project covers six states namely NCR of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajastan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, besides Madhya Pradesh. The objective of the project is to create a globally competitive environment with state-of the-art infrastructure along the corridors that is it covers. This would give a major boost to the region thereby promoting local commerce, facilitating foreign investments and enabling sustainable development.

Considering the total length of the corridor, Rajastan with 39% and Gujarat with 38% of the length constitute 77% of the total freight corridor length. This is followed by Haryana and Rajastan with 10% each, and Uttar Pradesh and NCR of Delhi with 1.5% each. High-speed connectivity for High Axle Load Wagons (25 tonnes) of Double Stacked Container Trains supported by high power locomotives is taken care of along this dedicated freight corridor. Running parallel to the freight corridor is the Delhi-Mumbai leg of the Golden Quadrilateral National Highway. The main infrastructure features of this corridor are power capabilities, rail connectivity to ports that are located en route etc. It is expected that 14% of the population that counts to around 180 million people will benefit from the development of the corridor.