No takers for Nashik IT park

The information technology park, developed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) at Ambad MIDC area in Nashik, has been lying desolate for the last couple of years, as not a single IT company has so far been interested in setting up its shop here due to high lease rates or rentals of the IT park galas.

Lack of government initiative in luring IT companies into the city is also blamed for the failure of the Ambad IT park.

To provide an impetus to the IT industry, the state government has set up several state-of-the-art IT parks in Maharashtra including this one in Nashik. The park was developed on a 7.52-hectare land with as many as 28 plots of different dimensions ranging from 500 sq metre to 5500 sq metre have been developed here.

The three-storeyed IT park building, which includes 15 galas, was built on a 0.64-hectare land including a construction area of 3,075 sq metre. Only earth station of Software Technology Park of India (STPI) has come up on a 2,000 sq metre land in IT park here. Other 27 plots are still not sold.

Rates of the plots in the IT park are at around Rs 1,000 per sq metre, which are very high. As a result, not a single plot in the IT park is sold so far. The IT park building, built as long as three years ago, still lies vacant, mainly due to its high rates.

The rent proposed in the IT park building is Rs 800 per sq ft. The government, too, has turned lackadaisical and has been responsible for not taking efforts to lure IT companies towards Nashik, sources said.

Local industry associations have urged the government to reduce the rates of plots as compared to Navi Mumbai and Pune, and approach large IT companies like TCS, Wipro, Infosys and Satyam to set up and operate their IT units here. Nashik is one of the fast-developing cities and is equidistant from both Mumbai and Pune. The city has aerial connectivity with Mumbai and Nagpur.

The proposed four-laning of the Mumbai-Nashik national highway will also be implemented shortly. Besides, Nashik has a rich and fully developed educational infrastructure comprising colleges (include five engineering colleges), schools, medical university and the Yashwantrao Chavan Open University. Climate of the city too is pleasant. Availability of enough water and electricity is another plus point of Nashik.

The city, therefore, offers a vast scope for the IT industry.

But what is important at the moment is the government's initiative in promoting the city as an ideal destination for the IT sector business.