Strategic location, significant investments: An expressway to industries

Despite challenges, areas around the 242-km Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, driven by strategic location, are attracting significant investments

The 242-km stretch of NH48, also known as the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, is a breeze to navigate. This eight-lane highway is mostly smooth, with minor disruptions due to construction and large freight movers. From its starting point near Haryana, the expressway is peppered with green RIICO signboards pointing towards various industrial clusters, interspersed with billboards from real estate developers.

The Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO), established in the 1990s, has matured over the past decade, thanks to infrastructure development that connects the state with Delhi — a selling point that no RIICO official ever fails to mention.

The Khuskheda Bhiwadi Neemrana Investment Region (KBNIR) spans both sides of the highway under Alwar district. Near Khushkheda lies a 400-acre Honda Motors facility. Most auto ancillaries in Neemrana’s Japanese zone cater to Honda. The 1,100-acre Japanese Zone, dedicated to Japanese companies under an India-Japan memorandum of undertaking (MoU), has been leased by the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC), which is currently developing another industrial corridor in the area. Officials admit that the project hit a snag a few years back due to delays in land acquisition, but work has since picked up pace.

The Japanese Zone, coupled with the super luxurious Neemrana Fort, has spurred the development of residential properties, tourist spots, and other amenities in the area.

On the other side of the highway, Bhiwadi aspires to emulate this success. Some hail it as the next Gururgram, while others criticise it for its high air pollution levels. Regardless, Bhiwadi has become a hotbed for realty developers. The area boasts high rises, farmhouses, villas, and luxury apartments. A little further down the road, one can see why.

Bhiwadi is home to around 4,000 industries, including prominent names, such as Saint Gobain, Jaquar, Relaxo, Dr Oetker, and various auto ancillary companies and MSMEs.

“Thanks to these industrial zones, Alwar district is the highest revenue generator for Rajasthan. What started as an extension of Gurugram is now a sought-after location,” said Surender Chouhan, former president of the Bhiwadi Manufacturers’ Association (BMA).

BMA’s building is a landmark in the Bhiwadi area. When this correspondent visited, only a few office bearers and staff were present, along with a group of villagers who had come to discuss land issues. Chouhan said that the era of small land banks for factories is long gone for Bhiwadi. “Big industries are coming in and they need big parcels of land. It is becoming costlier, the government has put in restrictions and stringent eligibility criteria, and everything is allotted through an e-auction route. Some of our members complain about the high reserve price of land in the auction.” 

Another BMA member said all policies are now being aimed at big players. For smaller units, it is becoming extremely expensive to operate in Bhiwadi. “Shifting to other zones is difficult as the connectivity is missing. Whatever development is happening in Bhiwadi is due to its proximity with the National Capital Region,” the member said.

Chouhan echoed a similar sentiment. “From building sewage to pushing the state government to build wider roads and even shifting to green practices, it is us (industry) which is doing it. The government is just auctioning land. Aggressive endorsement by them is also missing,” he said.

One of the biggest concerns is the cost of electricity. Factory owners claim the electricity cost for them is in the range of Rs 10-12 per unit — among the highest commercial rates in the country. As Bhiwadi falls in the NCR, it also must follow the Graded Response Action Plan for pollution control. This means no diesel-run generator sets, setting up gas lines, and having emission control technologies.

A senior official of RIICO agreed that electricity is costlier than in other states. “But the government is working on solving this — either through procuring power from cheaper sources or offering subsidies to industry,” he said, asserting that land is hardly a problem. “Despite the auction route, Rajasthan has some of the cheapest land rates. We are getting a premium on bids because industries are rushing to set up shop here.”

So, has policymaking undergone a sea change in the current government? Several officials said policies were always good, what has changed is the endorsement by the central and state leadership and connectivity infrastructure.

Several smaller industries resonated that growth in this region is happening automatically because of the expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (of the Railways). “Ashok Gehlot and his party (Congress) always had an anti-industry stand. This did spook some big names. The current administration is not against industry but is not doing much. There is no investment or subsidy from the government for electricity or emission control. If Bhiwadi’s ranking has come down in the air pollution index, it is because industry invested,” said a metal goods factory owner.

About the Lok Sabha polls, most industry people said they don’t care anymore who will come to power because their concerns remain the same. “There might be some push to the existing regime (BJP) as it has started taking steps to keep Rajasthan ahead of other industrial states. If the same party is in the Centre and state, we will benefit from the infrastructure creation,” said a paper factory owner.

The area will soon have dedicated zones for semiconductor, electric mobility, and electrical items and electronics manufacturing, such as mobile phones, besides e-waste management, said state government officials. Taking a cue from Gujarat, both industry and legislature have to get into each other’s shoes.