Surat and Mumbai in Tug-of-War Over India’s Largest Gems and Jewellery Park

Surat : The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) are aggressively pursuing their plans to set up India’s largest gems and jewellery park on a 21-acre plot in Navi Mumbai’s Mahape, at an estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore. This has sparked a tug-of-war with Surat, the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing center, which is awaiting the inauguration of the world’s largest office building, Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) on December 17.

The development comes after Surat diamantaires have been alleging that diamond traders and companies located at the BDB in Mumbai are shifting their base to SDB. This comes after the brainchild behind the SDB project, Vallabhbhai Lakhani alias Vallabh Patel, chairman of Kiran Gems announced that he is shifting his base from BDB in Mumbai to Surat along with his 1,200 employees.

Lakhani has already constructed 1,200 flats for his employees on the sprawling 40,000 square meter of land in Jiav, which is hardly 10 minutes’ drive from the SDB. Once the SDB is made operational on November 21, the employees of Kiran Gems will shift their base from Mumbai to Surat.

The GJEPC and BDB have argued that the proposed gems and jewellery park in Navi Mumbai will be a game-changer for the industry, providing state-of-the-art infrastructure, world-class amenities, and a single-window clearance system for businesses. They also believe that the park will help to attract new investment and create jobs in the region.

The tug-of-war between Surat and Mumbai over India’s largest gems and jewellery park is a sign of the growing competition between the two cities for business and investment. On October 24, about 983 diamantaires participated in the Kalash ceremony at the SDB, which marked the auspicious entry of the diamond companies.

However, insiders pointed out that less than 100 diamond offices at the SDB are up and ready for operations to start from November 21, while the rest of the companies and traders are yet to start the interior work in their offices.

The proposed gems and jewellery park in Navi Mumbai has the potential to be a major boost for the Indian gems and jewellery industry. However, the concerns raised by Surat diamantaires are valid. The city is home to a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that may not be able to afford to relocate to Navi Mumbai.

Samant emphasized that Maharashtra will do whatever it takes to promote the Rs. 40,000 crore Jewellery Park project conceptualised by GJEPC to give a boost to India’s gems & jewellery industry. Samant announced that Maharashtra Cabinet has approved subsidy incentives for Jewellery Park such as 5 FSI; One Rupee Electricity Subsidy for all units and 2 rupee for LGD units in the Park; waiver of Electricity Duty for all units in the Park; 50% SGST waiver for 5 years to all units in the Park; 5% interest subvention on Term Loan for all MSME units; and Stamp duty waiver to IJPM for lease. He also stated that he has further taken the decision on plea of GJEPC to facilitate the levelling of land of the Park by the Maharashtra Government.

Maharashtra  Minister of Industry  Uday Samant during his visit to GJEPC and Bharat Diamond Bourse announced that the State has taken a decision to allocate additional land adjacent to the Park for India Jewellery Park workers’ residence. India’s first-ever Jewellery Park in MHAPE (Navi Mumbai), spread over 21 acres is expected to create one lakh new jobs.

Mehul Shah, Vice President, Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) said, “I have no information of any member of BDB leaving or migrating from BDB but they are continuing to stay on and expanding their businesses from the Bourse. We are Bharat Diamond Bourse and think of the gems and jewellery business in the entire country”.