Rising traffic jams, damaged roads, and inadequate services are pushing nearly 20 companies in Chakan MIDC to contemplate moving to Khandala MIDC, as infrastructure woes threaten one of Maharashtra’s key industrial hubs.
Around 20 companies in Chakan MIDC are considering moving to Khandala MIDC in Satara district as frustration grows over traffic jams, damaged roads, waterlogging and a lack of basic industrial services. Industry representatives said the problems have been dragging on for years and are now disrupting production, delaying deliveries and raising logistics costs for firms employing about 2,000 people.
The dispute has also drawn a public rebuttal from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, which denied reports that dozens of firms had already left Chakan for other states. MIDC said claims of a wider exodus to Gujarat, Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh were false and argued that the industrial estate still has a substantial road network and supporting facilities. Even so, business leaders say conditions on the ground remain difficult, especially after heavy rain exposed potholes and damaged stretches in parts of the estate.
According to industry representatives, the Chakan belt is home to nearly 3,000 companies, generates about ₹1 lakh crore in annual business and supports roughly 15 lakh jobs. They say congestion on the Nashik Phata-Rajgurunagar corridor has become a daily choke point, with trucks stuck for hours, workers struggling to reach factories and ambulances caught in traffic during emergencies. Some business owners say the delays have pushed their losses into the 5% to 10% range, while others put the broader hit at as much as 20% to 25%.
The complaints are not limited to roads. Industrialists have also cited parking shortages, poor waste collection, weak coordination among agencies and delays in the proposed Nashik Phata-Rajgurunagar road project, which they say has been sanctioned but not started. They are urging pothole repairs, better traffic management, a truck terminal, cleaner drainage, more street lighting and a joint review system with clear deadlines. For now, Chakan remains one of Maharashtra’s most important manufacturing hubs, but the gap between its economic weight and its infrastructure is at the centre of the dispute.
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