"Nashik has everything that makes it an apt location for industries - it's equidistant from Mumbai, Pune and Surat; climatic conditions are perfect; road, rail and air connectivity have vastly improved; skilled manpower is available; educational institutes are burgeoning, and lastly, the agricultural 'backup'," says Madhukar Brahmankar, president Nashik Industries Manufacturers' Association (NIMA).
Agriculture remains the major occupation throughout all the five districts of North Maharashtra - Nashik, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon and Nandurbar. Nashik and Ahmednagar districts are the hubs for auto and electrical engineering industries. Dhule district and Malegaon (Nashik district) cater to ginning and textile industries. "An Automotive Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) test facility that was recently inaugurated at sugarcane-rich Ahmednagar, is one of the biggest in the world. A Special Economic Zone is being developed at Sinnar. In addition, Nashik Engineering Cluster (NEC) is home for CAD, CAM and CAE centres. The Rapid Prototyping centre and training centre of NEC is also nearing completion and the air-cargo facility in place at Ojhar only adds to the potential of the region," points out Vikram Sarda, NEC chairman.
The Vascon IT Park is all set to start functioning from September. The presence of WNS, Datamatics and Tricom India adds another dimension to Nashik's development.
Further, Dhule - boasting of five solvent plants that define its strength as an edible oil producing region - also has good scope for food processing industries for milk, oil and grapes. "The region also has good raw material for paper-mills, cotton mills and readymade garment industries," says Madan Surana, honorary secretary, DIMA, Dhule. National highways link it to Surat, Agra, Kolkata, Aurangabad and Mumbai. "Jalgaon- Dhule-Nandurbar is referred to a Silver Triangle. They share many common industries, mainly ginning," he adds.
The availability of raw material and skilled manpower, has led to Vertex Spinning Ltd set up Textile Park, deemed to Asia’s largest, on 400 acres of land at Nardhana, Dhule. “The land has been acquired from Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and we are proposing a full-fledged township with residence, hospitals, schools and other facilities,” Suresh Sharma, Chairman, Vertex, Spinning Limited, says.
Jalgaon is not only famous for banana-production, but is largest pulse milling centre. "Industrialists from Jalgaon have successfully fought with the government to form industrial townships where no octroi or charges by civic bodies will be applicable. With the airport nearly ready, the 250 dal mills in the area and skilled labour force of more than 5,000 goldsmiths make the town the most lucrative business centre," believes Shyam Agarawal, president, The Association of Small Scale Industries, Jalgaon
Nandurbar, the northern-most tip of the state, is known for producing chilli. The tribal population here is well versed with medicinal herbs and this translates into the presence of skilled manpower for Ayurved-based pharmaceuticals, and food-processing industries. Pradeep Poddar, a practising CA in Surat says, "Besides the chilli cluster, the region is also home to most of the labourers in Surat, the textile town. Navapur also has good potential for textile industry (23 such mills in place) because of availability of raw material and manpower. After all, these industries - be it in Bhiwandi, Malegaon or Dhule, all feed material to Surat."
The revenue office in its regional plan prepared in 2008, has reserved more than 9,500 hectares of land, informs Dr Sanjay Chahande, Secretary Women and Child Development, who was Divisional Commissioner, Nashik. Another 120 hectares have been reserved for education, he says.
In a nutshell, North Maharashtra is all set to make a mark on the industrial map of Maharashtra. All one has to do is just be there before the take-off.
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