Tech Exodus: Pune’s IT parks faces infrastructure disaster amidst authorities guarantees and opposition scrutiny

Over the previous decade, Pune’s illustrious Hinjewadi Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park has witnessed a gradual exodus, with 37 IT firms vanishing into the ether, leaving the State authorities seemingly clueless in regards to the causes. Amidst the heated exchanges between the federal government and opposition, Pune—the crown jewel of Maharashtra’s IT business—struggles with crumbling infrastructure and a mounting site visitors disaster, casting a shadow over its future as an IT hub.

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The Maharashtra Industrial Growth Company (MIDC), Metropolis and Industrial Growth Company (CIDCO), and Software program Expertise Parks of India (STPI) have labored tirelessly to develop public IT parks all through the state. These 37 public IT parks, backed by an funding of ₹18,000 crore and using about 2.7 lakh people, stand as testaments to the state’s formidable imaginative and prescient.

Nevertheless, the story doesn’t finish there. Because the launch of the IT and ITES coverage, and up till the top of October 2022, a staggering 577 non-public IT parks have been given the inexperienced gentle. Pune boasts 203 of those high-tech enclaves, with Mumbai not far behind at 186, cementing their statuses as the dual powerhouses of Maharashtra’s tech business. But, regardless of these spectacular numbers, the spectre of decline looms massive over Pune, demanding pressing motion to reclaim its former glory.

Bleak Actuality

The federal government has invited non-public sector participation to create world-class infrastructure for the IT business. Nevertheless, the truth on the bottom is bleak. The Hinjewadi IT Park, established 25 years in the past, is affected by an absence of primary infrastructure, together with insufficient roads, excessive hire prices, unreliable water provide, poor waste administration, and frequent electrical energy points. Based on the Hinjewadi Industries Affiliation (HIA), these civic issues have pushed 37 IT firms to maneuver out.

Maharashtra’s Industries Minister, Uday Samant, accused the opposition of making an attempt to create a unfavourable narrative by claiming that IT firms are leaving Hinjewadi IT Park resulting from infrastructure points.

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Samant just lately addressed the problem, saying that IT firms are relocating from Pune to different elements of the state or totally different places inside Pune. “There may be pointless noise about IT firms leaving Pune. We’re in discussions with the HIA and can quickly tackle these points,” he instructed reporters.

Nevertheless, this assurance has not alleviated the frustrations of many. “This isn’t the primary time the federal government has made guarantees. We’ve been listening to these assurances for a decade, and nothing has modified on the bottom,” mentioned C. Pankaj, who works in Hinjewadi. “We’ve constructed IT parks however ignored primary wants like site visitors planning. I spend greater than 4 hours every day caught in site visitors congestion.”

The distinction between authorities guarantees and the lived experiences of IT professionals underscores the pressing want for concrete motion to enhance Pune’s IT infrastructure, say business gamers.

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New Initiative

Baramati MP Supriya Sule has pledged to make efforts to retain the businesses contemplating leaving the Hinjewadi IT park. Sule introduced plans to collaborate with the Maratha Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) to prepare conferences with these companies. The target of those conferences is to handle the businesses’ considerations and guarantee them that their operational wants shall be met on the IT park.

She emphasised that retaining these companies is essential for producing extra employment alternatives within the metropolis and throughout the state.