Maharashtra to set up four circular economy parks for major industries

Maharashtra will set up four circular economy parks for major industries and an enabling policy for the same will be ready by March and implemented from April, a senior state government official has said.

These circular economy parks will primarily focus on recycling scrap and other wastes.

The proposed parks will come up in Aurangabad, Ratnagiri, near Pune and Nagpur, the state’s Principal Secretary for Steel and Mines Harshadeep Kamble said.

Kamble was speaking to PTI here over the weekend on the sidelines of an international conference on material recycling organised by the Material Recycling Association of India.

He said the government is planning a shipbreaking unit at Ratnagiri on the Konkan coast, an e-waste and auto parts unit near Pune, a steel scrap unit at Jalna near Aurangabad and a multipurpose multi- product unit in Nagpur given its geographical centrality.

The Nagpur facility will cater to all major industries that generate waste and will function like a hub and spoke model for the rest of the country, he added.

Each unit will be spread across at least 500 acres and maximum of 1,000 acres.

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has land banks in all these areas. Besides, land acquisition will not be a problem even though there are some concerns about pollution issues which will be resolved before the policy is finalised by next month, he noted.

The government is ready to offer lots of incentives to early birds in the form of lower GST rates, lower power and water tariffs along with fully developed land at much cheaper rates.

These incentives will be for the first comers who can set up such large units. They will also be offered common scrapyards/breaking units, storage and effluent treatment facilities, he added.

He also said the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) will act as the knowledge partner with the government for policy drafting and implementation.

Earlier, addressing the event on Friday, union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said increased use of recycled steel can lead to cost reduction to the tune of 30 per cent for auto components.

Steel Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had on Saturday said his ministry will ask primary steel makers to increase the use of recycled steel to 50 per cent from the present 15 per cent by 2047 as the country plans to become a net zero economy by 2070.

Kamble said the domestic recycling industry is currently worth USD 50 billion while the global industry is over USD 4.5 trillion. The domestic industry should touch USD 200 billion by 2030 and USD 600 billion by 2050, he added.

With this, Maharashtra will become the first state to have a special policy for circular economy — which means full adoption of recycling and reuse of materials.

The proposed circular economy parks will support economic development and attract more investment in the state, Kamble said.

The objective is to make these industries world-class, while it will create an additional 4-5 million direct jobs, he added.