Zero Tolerance Against Extortion From Investors, Says Fadnavis

(MENAFN- IANS) Nagpur, Dec 19 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Maharashtra tops among other states in attracting domestic and foreign direct investments saying that the government will have zero tolerance against extortion by people affiliated to various political parties from the investors.

He denied the opposition's accusations that Gujarat has outpaced Maharashtra and claimed that the state was the favoured investment destination in the past, today and will remain so also in the future.

In his reply to the debate on the Governor's address in the state Assembly here, Fadnavis said,”Maharashtra was top among other states in attracting foreign direct investment between 2015 and 2019. However, during the Maha Vikas Aghadi rule, Gujarat and Karnataka outsmarted Maharashtra. However, after the MahaYuti government came to power, Maharashtra has gained its top position.”

“Maharashtra is receiving huge investment. I expect political parties will not support the extortionists. If the investors are harassed and face extortion demands, they will not invest in the state. If you don't protect extortionists the Maharashtra will grow at a faster pace. The government will implement zero tolerance against extortionists,” he warned.

Fadnavis said that the state government is actively pursuing the use of renewable energy in a bid to achieve net zero carbon footprint.“Maharashtra's installed power generation capacity is 44,000 mw and the government has signed power purchase deals for 54,000 mw. At present, 84 per cent of power is generated through traditional energy sources against only 16 per cent by renewable energy sources. The government has aimed to increase the share of power generation through renewable energy sources to 52 per cent bringing down the share of traditional energy sources to 48 per cent,” he added.

Fadnavis said that the government will carry out infrastructure development on the fast track saying that the second phase of Mumbai Metro 3 Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ would be completed by May 2025.

“The first phase of Mumbai Metro 3 between Aarey and BKC was put into service on October 7. The second phase from Colaba to BKC will open by May 2025,” he declared.

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