Nagpur: If Maharashtra was a country, then considering its growth rate it would have been the world’s 30th largest economy, said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. He said the state’s GDP is set to outgrow economies like UAE or Singapore and already many countries were trailing Maharashtra in economic growth. He was speaking at the groundbreaking of a green steel plant through coal gasification being built by Greta Energy at Bhadravati town in Chandrapur on Saturday. Fadnavis also said the two projects would go a long way in not only manufacturing pollution-free products, but also ensure energy security for the country. Coal gasification is seen as an answer to petroleum and natural gas.The CM said Gadchiroli is emerging as a steel hub and the govt has bagged investment proposals for steel plants of Rs3 lakh crore in Gadchiroli, Bhandara and Gondia and these projects are expected to create one lakh jobs. As he held the groundbreaking event, Fadnavis urged promoters to employ 80% local manpower. “I would see how many local persons have been employed at the time of commissioning the plant,” he said.The CM assured the promoters to carry out work with full conviction and follow the norms. In case any small-time neta (leader) troubles them, they can report to the police and he would ensure they are in prison, said Fadnavis.Earlier the Union coal minister G Kishan Reddy said India has coal enough to last for 60 years. There may be views from a section that coal mining should not be encouraged, but resources lying below the earth cannot be allowed to go waste, he said, stressing on the need of initiatives like coal gasification.CM Devendra Fadnavis said there was no dearth of domestic cooking gas in the country and the Opposition is only creating panic. “The govt has already clarified there is enough cooking gas for domestic purposes, yet a narrative is being built by Congress to trigger unrest among people,” he said, while addressing reporters at the sidelines of the event.
