Nagpur: The Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) Council has demanded that IAS officer Deepak Kapoor be removed as Vice-Chairmancum-Managing Director of Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) for MIHAN mess. A state government agency, MADC is the developer of MIHAN project, which includes a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). The idea of MIHAN was mooted by VED more than two decades ago, after which the State Government had taken it up.
The project has not fully developed so far. The state of affairs in Nagpur’s MIHAN has been worsening with every passing day. In the midst of infighting, the story of MIHAN’s ruin is being written. Senior officials are destroying and denting the image of this ambitious project. The officials are neither worried about the investors nor are they providing any service to anyone to attract new investors.
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Tuesday 21 Jan. 2025
VED is a NGO working on ideas for the region’s development. The VED members in the tour visited the major units recently. In all the units, they received a lot of complaints against the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), while the work of the DC office inside the MIHA-SEZ was appreciated. After this the team realized that MIHAN could not be developed while in the hands of MADC or it was the need of the hour to bring competent officers and save MIHAN. That’s why now the demand for complete replacement of senior officers has gained momentum. There is even talk of fixing the responsibility of the officials who are making MIHAN a picnic spot.
VED is now, it is also part of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) for MIHAN. In a letter to Union Transport Minister and Member of Parliament from Nagpur Nitin Gadkari, VED has mooted that Kapoor should be removed with immediate effect. The letter says, “He should be replaced by a full time competent person who takes full accountability of his actions. This will obliviate corruption, work will be smooth, making unit holders happy, and investors will be forthcoming leading to job creation.”
The VED letter also says that a lot of land is lying unused in MIHAN. As against the objective to create 2 lakh jobs, only 25,000 jobs have been generated so far. It also alleges that due to Kapoor rarely visiting Nagpur, a local caucus has become involved in corruption. VED President Devendra Parekh said the organization has also prepared a proposal to develop a tourism zone in the SEZ. “Here, the ageing population from foreign countries can be attracted. It’s too cold between October to March in Europe and America, and senior citizens can spend time at the zone in MIHAN.
“The idea is to have star hotels, youth hostels, medical facilities including naturopathy, so that tourists from abroad can be attracted here for longer stays. This can be used as a centre to reach the tiger reserves, which are in a radius of 100km from the city,” he said.
