Nagpur: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced that a ‘New Nagpur’ is being developed on the lines of Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), with the proposed International Business and Financial Centre (IBFC) expected to create more than five lakh jobs. He was replying to the discussion on the final-week resolution in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on the concluding day of the Winter Session.
Fadnavis said Nagpur is steadily emerging as a major economic and employment hub, driven by focused investments in information technology, infrastructure and industry. He informed the House that all six major companies from the IT sector’s so-called ‘Big Six’ are currently operating in MIHAN (Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur), together providing indirect employment to around 1.27 lakh people.
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In addition, 31 companies are already operational in MIHAN, while 22 more are set to begin operations shortly. These units are expected to generate employment for another 1.27 lakh people, significantly boosting job opportunities in Vidarbha, he said.
$1 trillion economy goal by 2030
Asserting that Maharashtra is firmly on track to become the first State in the country to achieve a $1 trillion economy by 2030, the Chief Minister remarked, “Maharashtra is marching ahead; it is not going to stop.” Countering Opposition criticism, Fadnavis dismissed claims that Mumbai was being “taken away” from Maharashtra, stating that such narratives resurface before every election.
He also rejected apprehensions that welfare schemes would be discontinued, reminding the Opposition that the Government remains committed to its electoral mandate.
Refuting allegations of the State heading towards bankruptcy, Fadnavis cited figures from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) framework. While conceding that the financial situation is “not very rosy,” he maintained that it is far from weak, as projected by critics.
Backlog to be eliminated in two years
The Chief Minister announced that Maharashtra will eliminate the long-pending issue of regional backlog within the next two years, particularly in the irrigation sector. He said only three districts — Akola, Buldhana and Hingoli — currently have backlog.
In Akola, irrigation capacity of 14.53 lakh hectares is being created against a requirement of 13.83 lakh hectares. In Buldhana, the Jigaon irrigation project, described as a “game changer,” has received ₹2,399 crore in sanctions to create irrigation potential of 1.38 lakh hectares against a backlog of 29,000 hectares. In Hingoli, 485 projects have been sanctioned to tap irrigation potential of 22.31 lakh hectares.
Providing an update on the Gosikhurd project, Fadnavis said of the total irrigation potential of 2.59 lakh hectares, 2.09 lakh hectares has already been achieved. The remaining work will be completed by June 2027, for which ₹1,555 crore has been released. Additionally, ₹5,950 crore has been sanctioned for deepening irrigation potential across the State.
Armed with data, the Chief Minister accused the Opposition of painting an unduly bleak picture. “Darkness is not prevailing everywhere,” he said, countering the claims made during the previous day’s debate.
Solar power push for farmers
On the agriculture front, Fadnavis said farmers will receive assured daytime power supply through large-scale solar energy adoption. Contracts for 16,000 MW of solar power have already been issued, with the power expected to come on stream by mid-2026. So far, 3,000 MW of projects have been completed.
Maharashtra is targeting 26,682 MW of power generation from renewable energy sources. The Chief Minister highlighted that competitive bidding for solar power would help the State save nearly Rs 10,000 crore annually, besides reducing the Rs 5,500 crore outgo on agricultural power subsidies.
He added that 16,000 MW of solar power generation would substantially cut the carbon footprint. If the same capacity were to be generated through thermal power, nearly 2.75 lakh saplings would have been required to offset emissions.
Looking ahead, Maharashtra is aiming for 36,000 MW of green power generation in the next decade, including 1,500 MW of round-the-clock renewable energy. By 2030, the State plans to contract 82,000 MW of power to meet rising demand, of which 36,000 MW will be from green sources.
Fadnavis said the long-pending issue of agricultural pump connections has been resolved. He informed the House that MSEDCL has entered the Guinness Book of Records for installing 45,110 agricultural pumps in record time.
He further stated that Maharashtra is poised to become a national leader in pumped storage power generation, which will help stabilise the power grid. The State has signed agreements for 76,000 MW of pumped storage projects, with plans to scale this up to 1 lakh MW. While Maharashtra’s own requirement is around 8,000 MW, the surplus power will be supplied to the national grid, aiding frequency stability. About 25 per cent of this capacity will be through on-off options, best suited for grid balancing, he explained.
Jobs, aviation hub and Metro expansion
The Chief Minister also announced that Asia’s largest aviation training institute will be established in Amravati. Under the ‘Mahabharti’ recruitment drive, the State Government has provided jobs to 1.20 lakh people over the past three years. An equal number of government jobs will be offered over the next two years, he added.
Speaking about urban transport, Fadnavis said more than 40 km of Nagpur Metro lines have already been completed, with around 1.10 lakh commuters using the service daily. Under the next phase, an additional 43 km of Metro lines will be completed within the next two years.
Expressways to transform connectivity
Highlighting major road infrastructure projects, Fadnavis said the Nagpur–Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway will reduce travel time between the two cities to just eight hours and significantly boost the economy of the Marathwada region. He also said the proposed Mumbai–Kalyan–Latur Jan Kalyan Expressway will cut travel time from Latur to Mumbai to four-and-a-half hours.
Under the extension of the Samruddhi Expressway, a 162-km access-controlled expressway between Nagpur and Gondia is being built at a cost of ₹18,539 crore. Once land acquisition is completed, travel time between Nagpur and Gondia will come down to nearly one-and-a-quarter hours, he said.
As the Winter Session concluded and local body elections draw closer, the Chief Minister’s detailed presentation set the tone for a renewed political debate on employment, farmers’ welfare and the overall development of Vidarbha in the months ahead.
