Nashik is increasingly losing out to cities such as Pune and Aurangabad in terms of industrial growth and one of the factors is lack of pollution check, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) member secretary P Anbalagan said on Friday.
"No new industries came to Nashik in more than a decade and there was no growth of the existing industries due to pollution issues, particularly effluent treatment," he said while addressing industrialists during a workshop organised by Nashik Industries and Manufacturers Association (Nima).
"Earlier, Nashik ranked third in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Aurangabad in terms of industry. But later Pune took over Aurangabad and, subsequently, Aurangabad took over Nashik. Now Nagpur is on the verge of taking over Nashik. We cannot make it to the first phase of the industrial corridor. In the second phase, we will definitely have an industrial corridor for Nashik. Aurangabad and Nashik can be a combined corridor," Anbalagan said.
He added that one of the reasons leading to big industries not reaching Nashik was the lack of common effluent treatment plant, besides unavailability of land. "Nashik hardly had any proposals for environment clearance, which is mandatory to construct projects on more than 2 lakh sqft and above. Automobile companies and pharmaceuticals had a good scope in Nashik. In Dindori, we have taken 400-500 acre for industries, primarily for pharmaceutical companies. I had also proposed a cargo facility and it is now in Dindori. Except for India Bulls' power plant, there is no new big plant in the district," Anbalagan said.
He said industries worth crores of rupees were coming up even in places like Chalisgaon. "But in Nashik, no big industry has come up, except for some wineries and a brewery," he said.
