Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (File)Opposition leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra have attacked Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis for letting the Rs 21,935-crore Tata-Airbus military transport aircraft manufacturing facility move to Gujarat. The Industries Minister in the previous MVA government, Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai, on Friday claimed that the previous government had held at least three meetings with the Tatas and if the MVA would have been in power, this would not have happened.
Records reviewed by The Sunday Express show that the Tatas were looking at Gujarat as early as December 2021 — when the MVA was in power.
In fact, submissions made by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), in March 2022, with the Gujarat Authority for Advance Ruling (GAAR), show that TASL had shortlisted four locations in Gujarat for setting up the unit.
The company approached GAAR on December 24, 2021 to seek clarity on whether the supply under the contract between TASL and Airbus will qualify as “supply of goods or supply of service” and on the rate of tax, among other issues. In its submission, TASL said it had already held discussions with local authorities and had conducted site surveys in Gujarat.
“The company hereby states that it conducted site surveys, discussed with the local authorities, and shortlisted four locations in the State of Gujarat for setting up the unit,” said TASL to GAAR in a letter dated March 24, 2022. The submissions are part of the Advance Ruling by GAAR dated May 11, 2022.
The company added: “We, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (‘Applicant’ or ‘Company’) have filed the captioned application for Advance Ruling. The application is filed in respect of manufacture and supply of 40 aircraft proposed to be undertaken by the Applicant vide contract dated 29-10-21 (the contract) entered with Airbus Defence and Space, S.A.U., Spain under the C295 aircraft programme of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).”
It further said that the project involved final assembly of aircraft which need to be ultimately delivered to the MoD in a fly-away condition at the project location. Hence, the project land needs to be co-located with an airport with all available air-side infrastructure.
“For this purpose, the Company is in discussions with the relevant authorities to get the requisite clearances and regulatory/statutory approvals. The location will be finalised based on obtaining the necessary authorisations/approvals from the regulatory agencies,” TASL had submitted.
It further said that once the location is finalised, the same will be declared as an additional place of business of the Applicant in the State of Gujarat. The activities under the contract will then be executed in the State of Gujarat.
The ruling BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction have come under sharp attack from Opposition parties after Gujarat — facing Assembly elections within the next few months — walked away with at least two mega projects in as many months: Vedanta-Foxconn on September 13, and now, Tata-Airbus.
On Thursday, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar had announced that Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus Defence and Space will manufacture C- 295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force in Vadodara in Gujarat.
When The Indian Express asked current Industries minister Uday Samant about the claims of three meetings by Desai during the MVA government, he said: “They could have held informal meetings and discussed. But there should be something on record officially. There is not a single paper, letter, proposal or communication with the state of any meeting between the department and Tata Group or Airbus with regards to the Tata-Airbus project. I can say with responsibility there is not a single official mention or correspondence regarding the same at the government level with Tata and Airbus regarding the (aircraft) facility.”
On Saturday, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray raised the issue and called for Fadnavis’s resignation. “No industrialist believes in this government and they don’t know for how many days this government will run. Had I been the deputy chief minister of this state, I would have taken back the support from this government. Since his (Devendra Fadnavis) name is also being tarnished in all this and his name is being dragged, he should resign and opt for the fresh elections,” Aaditya said.
Several attempts made by The Indian Express on Saturday to reach Desai and Aaditya Thackeray seeking their comment on details of their meetings with TASL and Airbus, failed to elicit any response.
On September 15, Samant had told a TV channel that the state would try to get the Tata-Airbus project for Maharashtra. His statement came two days after Vedanta-Foxconn had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Gujarat to set up its Rs 1,50,000-crore semiconductor facility.