The Maharashtra Economic Development Council chief, M N Chaini, is upset.
Two years back the state government had mandated the council to prepare a report on the state's achievable potential by 2005.
Titled 'Vision 2005', the report was unveiled amid fanfare. Unfortunately, Chaini says, after two years the vision still remains on paper.
"The only progress after two years (on vision 2005) is that the government (Democratic Front) is still talking about it. For so long it was lying on the shelf. The government is finally saying it will appoint a three-member committee comprising McKinsey, MEDC and IDFC to evaluate the golden triangle and the special economic zone (SEZ)," Chaini said.
He blames the bureaucratic mindset of officials at the City & Infrastructure Development Corporation (CIDCO) for the slow progress of the Navi Mumbai SEZ.
"Some bureaucrats did not see it our way when we recommended that a private group be jointly drafted to ensure a time bound completion of the Navi Mumbai project. The bureaucratic sentiment was against this as they felt the private group would hijack the project since it has no social obligations," he says.
Industry watchers on the other hand blame the CIDCO-promoted project for lacking in business acumen and viability assessment.
The MEDC president is upset that a much curtailed monsoon session of the state legislature (all of 10 days) passed by without the state government enacting many important laws that were emphasised upon as being inherent to the economic development of Maharashtra.
"One such legislation was the MIDAS Act, which MEDC was given to understand during our frequent discussions with state government officials, as being ready for enactment," he said.
"Infrastructure is a key to development. There were reforms milestones that were set for the state to usher in progress. The MIDAS Act, we at MEDC were told by principal secretary Vishwas Dhumal, was ready and set to be enacted as a legislation by June during the state legislative session," Chaini said.
"Three weeks prior to this, the Cabinet ministers approved the principles of the MIDAS Act, but the session came and went and we saw no legislation," he said.
This lackadaisical attitude has put the real estate industry in a quandary as many industrialists in this sector, especially those dealing in township development projects, went ahead on a bullish note expecting the Act to be in place.
"The importance of the MIDAS Act is the sector specific changes it brings about. We have repeatedly been seeking details of the approved provisions of the Act from the state government, but are yet to receive any formal response. For development to gather momentum, the state government needs to first announce its policy decisions only after which investments will come in," he said.
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