MP Plastic Parks Promised 30,000 Jobs, Delivered 274

Parliament data exposes a glaring gap between government claims and ground reality at two centrally-funded industrial clusters in Madhya Pradesh

A Question That Shook Parliament

A question raised in the Lok Sabha has exposed a deep disconnect between official promises and the actual outcomes of two flagship industrial projects in Madhya Pradesh. BJP MP Anita Nagar Singh Chauhan from the Ratlam–Jhabua constituency sought details about the performance of plastic park clusters set up in the state with central government assistance. The data tabled in Parliament paints a sobering picture: combined spending of over ₹177 crore across two parks, infrastructure fully built at both sites, and yet barely 274 jobs to show for it all.

Tamot Park: Infrastructure Ready, Outcomes Absent

The Plastic Park at Tamot in Raisen district was sanctioned in 2013 with a total outlay of ₹108 crore, including a ₹40 crore central grant. Civil infrastructure at the site is fully complete, and 33 plots have been allotted to prospective industrial units. Private investment so far stands at ₹68.75 crore. Despite this, the park has generated only 274 direct jobs — a fraction of what was envisioned when the project was conceived.

Promises Made From a High Stage

The foundation stone of the Tamot park was laid on June 5, 2015, in the presence of then Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Officials at the event projected that the cluster would house over 100 industrial units, generate more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, and attract investment worth approximately ₹713 crore. Those figures have not materialised in the decade since.

Bilaua: Zero Employment Despite Full Completion

The situation at the Bilaua Plastic Park in Gwalior district is arguably worse. The park was developed at a cost of ₹68.72 crore, with the central government contributing ₹34.36 crore. Infrastructure work at Bilaua is fully complete — yet only five plots have been allotted, private investment amounts to just ₹2.54 crore, and according to data placed before Parliament, not a single job has been created so far.

Ambitious Targets, No Takers

Around the time of its announcement in 2016, the Bilaua Plastic Park was projected to provide employment to nearly 10,000 people and generate investment and turnover of up to ₹1,000 crore. As per reports, the park has failed to attract meaningful private participation despite the government completing its end of the bargain — the land development and civil infrastructure.

Why the Gap Remains Wide

Sources indicated that inadequate industry outreach, limited post-allotment handholding, and weak logistics connectivity may have contributed to low investor uptake at both sites. The Plastic Parks scheme was designed by the central government to create dedicated clusters for small and medium plastic manufacturers, enabling them to benefit from shared infrastructure and economies of scale. However, as official data confirms, the conversion from allotment to actual production and employment has been far slower than anticipated in Madhya Pradesh.

Public Money, Unmet Obligations

Together, the two parks have received substantial public funding — central and state — yet the employment outcomes remain negligible relative to what was promised. Opposition leaders are expected to raise the issue in upcoming state assembly sessions, questioning whether the government conducted adequate due diligence before making commitments at high-profile launch events. According to officials, efforts to attract additional investors to both parks are ongoing, though no fresh timeline has been indicated publicly.

What Comes Next

The Madhya Pradesh government has not yet issued a formal response to the parliamentary disclosures. The central Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, which oversees the Plastic Parks scheme nationally, is likely to face pressure to review the monitoring mechanisms for such cluster projects. With the state gearing up for continued investment outreach under various industrial programmes, the performance gap at Tamot and Bilaua may become a benchmark in debates over accountability in publicly funded infrastructure schemes.