Ajit Pawar Flags Industry Flight: “Hinjewadi IT Park Moving to Bengaluru, Hyderabad”

The spectre of industries, jobs, and economic opportunities shifting away from Maharashtra resurfaced on Saturday after a video showing Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar expressing concern over the issue went viral.

During a surprise visit to Pune’s Hinjewadi area at 6 a.m. to review monsoon-related civic problems such as waterlogging and traffic snarls, Mr. Pawar was heard telling local sarpanch Ganesh Jambhulkar,
“We are ruined. The entire Hinjewadi IT Park is moving out. It’s going out of my Pune, out of Maharashtra, to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Don’t you care at all?”

The Deputy CM and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader was referring to the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjewadi—spread over 2,800 acres and developed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation in the mid-1990s—which houses over 800 IT and business firms, including Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, and Tech Mahindra. The visit followed widespread complaints from citizens after the first heavy spell of the monsoon caused severe disruptions in the tech hub.

Political backlash

The video triggered sharp criticism from the Congress, which accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government of failing to maintain Maharashtra’s industrial leadership.
“The IT industry that once flourished in Hinjewadi during Congress rule is now migrating to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar himself has admitted this,” said Harshvardhan Sapkal, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC).

Mr. Sapkal questioned Pawar’s accountability as both Pune’s Guardian Minister and Deputy CM:
“Was Ajit Pawar asleep while Pune declined? He must take responsibility and resign.”

He further alleged that Maharashtra’s collapsing infrastructure, corruption, and growing law-and-order concerns were eroding investor confidence.
“Not just existing businesses but even future investments are moving away – largely to Gujarat. The ₹1.6-lakh-crore Vedanta-Foxconn project going to Gujarat is the biggest proof of BJP’s administrative failure. If even the Deputy CM acknowledges this industrial flight, the government must explain itself to the public,” he added.

Hinjewadi’s infrastructure crisis

Concerns over Hinjewadi’s competitiveness are not new. In May 2024, the Hinjewadi Industries Association (HIA) reported that 37 IT companies had shifted operations from the park over the past decade due to worsening infrastructure and chronic traffic congestion.

A month later, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule had promised to engage with companies to persuade them to stay.

Industry bodies have echoed these concerns. Pawanjit Mane, Maharashtra State president of the Forum for IT Employees (FITE), said:
“The kind of IT park expansion we see in Bengaluru hasn’t happened here. Companies are hesitant to send employees to Hinjewadi despite the government’s claims of improvement. Restoring corporate confidence will take time.”

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