Gujarat govt refutes allegations made by Shaktisinh Gohil on GIDC

Gandhinagar: Rushikesh Patel, spokesperson for the Government of Gujarat, today refuted the allegations made by Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil, who on Sunday accused the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) of widespread corruption in the allocation process of plots to industries in Dahej and Saykha-based GIDC estates.

The Minister stated that GIDC obtains the necessary land from the government or through acquisition and provides land to industrialists on a no-profit, no-loss basis without developing infrastructure. GIDC is not an organization established for profit, so it cannot be compared with private parks or developers.

Patel said, “Chemical and engineering zones are situated within the Dahej and Saykha industrial estates. Since nearly 90 percent of the plots were sold in the chemical zones of these estates, therefore, in the 518th meeting of the Board of Directors, GIDC decided to declare only this chemical zone as saturated.”

“Subsequently, representations were received from various industrial associations and industrialists suggesting that an entire estate should be declared saturated only if 90 percent of its plots are sold in the whole estate. Accordingly, in the 519th board meeting, GIDC declared the entire Saykha and Dahej industrial estates unsaturated, where up to 90 percent of the plots of the whole estates remain unallotted.”

“As a result, no land has been allotted to any industries in Saykha to date. Therefore, the allegation of financial loss to the government amounting to crores of rupees by allotting land in Saykha is entirely baseless and fictitious,” the minister added.

The Minister also stated, “During the tenure of the Congress government, plots were allocated at fixed rates without auction. Since the BJP government took over, the system of allotting plots through public auction has been implemented in saturated estates.”

Patel, emphasized that GIDC has played a crucial role in Gujarat’s global industrial development, making significant contributions. Over 70,000 industrial units have been allotted across approximately 239 industrial estates statewide, fulfilling various purposes such as domestic production, export, employment, and research, thereby accelerating economic activities at both state and national levels.

The Minister termed the allegation made by the Congress regional president regarding corruption after the handling of old applications as baseless. They added that none of the applicants from the old applications have been allotted a plot to date, so there has been no negotiation. The question does not arise.

Since no plots have been allotted in Saikha since April 2023, the statement made by Rajya Sabha MP and State Congress President Mr. Shaktisinh Gohil, alleging financial loss to the government, is completely false, fabricated, and merely a publicity stunt. DeshGujarat