MUMBAI: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis released a barrage of figures on Friday, defending Maharashtra’s position on the alleged closure of 36,211 companies in the state in the last five years. Fadnavis claimed that 76% of the companies alleged to have closed were non-functional or defunct.
The figures released by Union minister of state for corporate affairs, Harsh Malhotra, in the Lok Sabha were in response to a question raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Rajabhau Waje. He added that the government did not have information on how many jobs were lost following the closure of companies, or whether workers had been compensated. Year-wise figures suggest that the number of inactive companies being struck off has increased. Following this, the opposition slammed the state government,with Sharad Pawar in a post on X questioning the industrial environment in Maharashtra. “Company units, MSME units are shutting down. Projects are moving out of the state and the BJP governments in the state and the centre are responsible for this.
Fadnavis, who released the figures on social media, was responding to criticism by NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, who had quoted figures released in Parliament that 36,211 industrial units had been shuttered in Maharashtra in the last five years. Of these, 6,433 industrial units were in Pune district, 12,009 in Mumbai, and 4,704 in Thane district. “On average, 20,000 to 22,000 companies in the state close every year. This year, 76% were dysfunctional, companies that never commenced operations, while 12% opted for mergers and 2% were dissolved,” Fadnavis said. “In 2019-20 alone, the Union ministry of corporate affairs undertook a special drive and struck off 600,000 companies. In response to Pawar’s criticism, Fadnavis said Maharashtra continues to lead the country in the number of registered companies – 396,000 companies as of June 30, 2026.
Therefore, it is not accurate to suggest that large numbers of functioning companies have shut down, he added. Pawar pointed to the 20 companies that had left Chakan,an industrial area in Pune, allegedly due to bad infrastructure, especially traffic snarls and bad roads.
Pawar said Maharashtra’s legacy as an industrially advanced state should be protected regardless of the government in power. State Congress chief Harashavardhan Sakpal said the chief minister takes pride in calling himself “infrastructure man”, but he is actually a “disaster man”. “The number of active companies has increased from 678,000 in 2015-16 to 2.11 million in 2026, more than a three-fold rise in the last decade,” he claimed. On concerns regarding industries in Chakan, he said industries minister Uday Samant has been directed to address the issues faced by the firms.
