Ajit Pawar visit to Pune reignites Opposition charge of ‘flight’ of industries

The spectre of industries, jobs and economic opportunities moving out or away from Maharashtra to other States reared its ahead again on Saturday (July 26, 2025) as a video of Deputy Chief Minister in conversation with a sarpanch from a Pune suburb referenced the issue.

Conducting a 6 a.m. surprise visit the Hinjewadi area of the city to review ongoing efforts to tackle civic infrastructure issues that have worsened during the monsoon, Mr. Pawar was heard confronting Hinjewadi sarpanch Ganesh Jambhulkar, “We are ruined. The entire Hinjewadi IT Park is moving out. It’s going out of my Pune, out of Maharashtra, to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Don’t you care at all?”

The Deputy CM and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader was referring to the condition of the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjewadi, spread over 2,800 acres and developed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation in the mid-1990s, which houses over 800 IT and business entities including majors such as Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, and Tech Mahindra. The visit came in response to severe waterlogging and traffic chaos during the first spell of monsoon, which had triggered public complaints.

Sapkal criticism

Following the video going viral, the Congress accused the Mahayuti government of failing to maintain Maharashtra’s industrial dominance, citing crumbling infrastructure, corruption and lawlessness. “The IT industry that once flourished in Hinjewadi during Congress rule is now migrating to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar himself has admitted this,” said Harshvardhan Sapkal, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

Mr. Sapkal questioned Mr. Pawar’s dual role as Pune’s Guardian Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. “Was Ajit Pawar asleep while Pune declined? He must take responsibility and resign,” he demanded.

Launching a sharp critique of the BJP-led alliance government, he said, “Basic infrastructure is collapsing, and entrepreneurs are losing faith. As a result, not just existing businesses but even future investments are moving away – largely to Gujarat.”

The Maharashtra Congress chief cited the ₹1.6-lakh-crore Vedanta-Foxconn project, which was lost to Gujarat, as an example of “BJP’s administrative failure”. “If even the Deputy CM acknowledges the flight of industries, the government owes the public a clear explanation,” he said.

Hinjewadi’s decline

In May 2024, the Hinjewadi Industries Association (HIA) had claimed that 37 IT companies moved out from the infotech park over the previous 10 years due to the deteriorating infrastructure and traffic congestion in the locality. A month later, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule said she would hold meetings with the infotech park companies and convince them to stay back.

“The kind of IT park expansion we see elsewhere, like Bengaluru, has not happened here. We are potentially losing business – companies are reluctant to send their employees to Hinjewadi despite the government’s efforts. It will take time to regain their confidence,” said Pawanjit Mane, Maharashtra State president of the Forum for IT Employees (FITE).