Bring Maharashtra House in Stuttgart project back on track, demands Opposition

MUMBAI: Over the last few years, the Mahayuti govt has aggressively pursued global investments and MoUs aimed at job generation. But there's a significant gap between promised outcomes and actual projects, says the opposition. One such initiative that remains mired in controversy is the plan for a Maharashtra House in Stuttgart, Germany.Targeting the BJP-led govt for its failure to start a facilitation centre for skilled migrants in Stuttgart 1.5 years after its inauguration, the opposition has described it as yet another example of headline-grabbing politics without desired results.Mumbai Congress chief and MP Varsha Gaikwad, while urging chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene and bring the project back on track, said she would take up the issue with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh weighed in saying the situation reflects poor coordination and lack of accountability.A sister state partnership exists between Maharashtra and the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Similarly, there is a sister city agreement between Mumbai and Stuttgart too. Officials said Maharashtra is the top destination for German Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India, attracting 49-61% of German FDI inflows between 2019 and 2024. Maharashtra House was supposed to be a facilitating office for the skilled migration MoU between Maharashtra and Baden Württemberg through which the state planned to send 10,000 skilled workers to Germany for sectors including healthcare, IT, and manufacturing.On May 2, TOI reported that Maharashtra House was inaugurated as a trade facilitation and liaison office by then school education minister Deepak Kesarkar in Aug 2024, but has been shut following directions from the MEA that the office should not be operationalised and all its proceedings must be suspended till further orders. Kesarkar had travelled to Stuttgart with a delegation of officials for the inauguration."Nearly 1.5 years after a flashy inauguration, Maharashtra House in Stuttgart is still shut. No operations, no accountability—just excuses and red tape. This is the fate most international MoUs and ventures of the Maharashtra govt seem to meet. How was this inaugurated without approvals? Why was public money spent on a delegation trip for a project that never took off? There must be a full enquiry. I urge CM Devendra Fadnavis to intervene and start Maharashtra House in Stuttgart immediately...," Gaikwad said.In his post on X, Shaikh stated: "Public money, big announcements, and still no results. Maha House in Stuttgart remains shut even after 1.5 years of inauguration. This reflects poor coordination and lack of accountability. People deserve answers on delays and responsibility. They laid the foundation stone for the inauguration, but didn't even obtain permission? The ‘Maharashtra House' in Germany still lacks approval from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). What happened to the dreams of 10,000 jobs? This govt is completely engrossed in just ‘events,' but when it comes to actual work, it's ‘tightly locked'! The public must get answers to this."