The significant commitment came at Thackeray's first-ever interaction with the captains of India Inc since taking over as Chief Minister at the head of the Maha Vikas Aghadi combine on November 28, Industry Minister Subhash Desai told media persons after the conclave.
"Leading industrialists discussed their issues, expressed concerns over certain delays in projects, raised questions and even made suggestions to the CM who gave a patient hearing to all," Desai said.
Among the prominent personalities present at the interaction with Thackeray were Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, the Hindujas, Gautam Singhania, Adi Godrej, Deepak Parekh, Anand Mahindra, Sajjan Jindal, Uday Kotak, Niranjan Hiranandani, Baba Kalyani, etc.
Incidentally, Thackeray's meeting with the almost the same set of dignitaries came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a similar meeting in New Delhi on Monday.
Setting at rest the apprehensions in the minds of the industry, Thackeray categorically stated that no projects would be stopped, but on the contrary, their implementation would be further speeded up.
Last month, had first highlighted the nagging doubts in the minds of India Inc. ("India Inc. watches as Maha govt reviews 'mega-infrastructure projects' on December 6) after the new MVA government ordered a review of all big ticket projects like the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train, and other money-guzzlers, though none were halted.
Procedures, permissions, etc would be speeded up and east of doing business would be further relaxed for the benefit of the industry, and a cordial atmosphere would be created for business in the state to ensure not a single industry moves out of Maharashtra besides correcting the regional imbalances, Thackeray told the industry captains.
Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray stressed on the need to develop Mumbai as a global tourist destination, as well as issues of health and education, which could be developed and implemented with the help of industrial houses.
Though the state has inherited a debt burden of Rs 6.71 lakh crore, Desai said that the progress of Tuesday's decisions would be reviewed within three months and such disussions with India Inc. will continue in future.
With a population of around 12 crore, the state occupies a pre-eminent position in the country's economy, ranks among the largest contributors to the nation's GDP and has a strong presence of industries in almost all sectors.
(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@.in)
( With inputs from IANS )