AURIC Aurangabad (Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Area) Master Plan

Planning horizon: proposed area vs. notified area

AURIC's footprint has been described differently at different stages of planning, and it is important to separate the early, larger proposal from the area that is actually notified and being built today.

In October 2011 the Maharashtra cabinet cleared a "Shendra-Bidkin Mega Industrial Park" pitched at a much larger scale: Shendra - Bidkin Mega Industrial Park is to come up on 8400 hectares of land i.e. 20756 acres. Some contemporary reports went further, noting that apart from an industrial hub, a residential area will be developed on 10,500 hectares of land between Shendra and Bidkin under the DMIC project.

The project that was actually notified, land-acquired and built is smaller. Under a 2019 regulatory order, the total area for development proposed to be covered through area of operations is 4143.89 Hectares comprising Shendra Industrial Area (851.49 Hectares) and Bidkin Industrial Area (3292.40 Hectares), and the said area has been notified by the GoM vide its notification dated 23 September 2016. This 4,143.89-hectare figure (≈10,000 acres) is the operative planning area referenced in current government and AITL/MITL communications, matching the commonly cited 10,000 acres (40 km2) near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India.

As of mid-2025, not all of the notified area had been formally transferred to the SPV: State Govt. has transferred entire 8.39 sq.km land for Shendra Industrial Area and 28.8 sq.km for Bidkin Industrial Area to the SPV — a combined 37.19 km², somewhat short of the full 41.44 km² notified area, largely reflecting the pace of Bidkin land transfer and residual acquisition.

Land-use split

Across the notified area, AURIC follows a fixed industrial-to-mixed-use ratio: 60% of the land in AURIC is for industrial usage, mainly focusing on textile, food, defence, engineering and electronics, while the remaining 40% is intended for residential, commercial and other purposes. Government press releases repeat this same split for current operations, describing a balanced development model, with 60% of the land dedicated to industries and the remaining 40% allocated for commercial, residential, educational, and healthcare facilities.

Phased development: Shendra and Bidkin

AURIC is built in two geographically distinct nodes, each with its own approval and construction timeline.

Shendra (Phase 1): Environmental clearance came first — EC for the project has been granted by MoEF&CC for Shendra on 18th June, 2015 and for Bidkin on 21st February, 2017. Infrastructure funding here was modest and has been fully deployed: for Shendra Industrial Area, GoI has approved the tender packages for various infrastructure components for Rs. 1,533 Crore. Major trunk infrastructure packages have been completed. The node was formally launched when on 7 September 2019, the Aurangabad Industrial City was inaugurated as the first industrial integrated smart city of India under the Government of India's flagship Smart Cities Mission.

Bidkin (Phase 2): This is the larger node. The Union Cabinet approved construction of trunk infrastructure for Phase II of Part I of Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area (SBIA) namely the Bidkin region spread across 31.79 sq km (3,179.20 ha) in November 2016. Government funding for Bidkin's trunk works is substantially larger than Shendra's: for Bidkin Industrial Area, GoI has approved the infrastructure packages worth Rs. 6,414.21 Crore to be developed in 3 Phases, of which the trunk infrastructure works for Sector A (10.32 sq.km) have been completed. A first tranche of on-ground services was completed within Bidkin covering 2,500 acres: essential infrastructure, including water supply, electricity, sewage systems, and high-speed internet, has been developed in Shendra (2,000 acres) and Bidkin Phase-1 (2,500 acres), with underground distribution reaching individual industrial plots. The Bidkin node was formally dedicated to the public as Hon'ble Prime Minister has dedicated AURIC Bidkin to the Nation on 29th September, 2024, though further trunk-infrastructure phases in Bidkin remain under implementation.

A separate sustainability commitment applies across both nodes: 42% of the water demand will be met through treated wastewater.

Population and employment targets

Targets have been quoted differently at different times, and current figures are progress indicators rather than the original master-plan target, so the two should not be confused.

At the time of the 2019 launch, the state government's stated ambition was for AURIC to "bring investments worth Rs 70,000 crore and jobs to three lakh people" once fully built, with a matching residential target: about 3,00,000 people are expected to reside in a top class infrastructure once the city is fully developed. A later description of the plan cites a higher long-term residential figure, noting AURIC is designed to support a resident population of around 500,000 at full build-out.

As of September 2025 — six years after launch — actual progress stood well short of the ultimate jobs target but was substantial: AURIC smart city (Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Area) in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district has created an investment potential of Rs 71,343 crore with the allotment of 323 plots for setting up industries in both the large-scale and MSME segments which are expected to generate 62,405 jobs. Broken down by node, in the Shendra industrial area, investments of Rs 6,096 crore have flowed in, generating 14,455 jobs, while the [Bidkin] area has attracted marquee investments worth Rs 76,219 crore, including Ather Energy (EVs), Lubrizol (chemicals), Toyota Kirloskar (automobiles), and JSW Green Mobility, with an employment potential of 35,000+ jobs.

Planners and consultants

Master-planning and design work for AURIC has involved a mix of international and domestic firms. Early conceptual planning brought in a US firm: renowned US firm, AECOM, has been roped in as a consultant for planning the township. Formal project records list a fuller consultant roster: AITL's Partners are Consultants for Programme Management (PMNC) – CH2M HILL; Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Private Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Patil Constructions as contractors; Honeywell Automation India Limited as the Master System Integrator; and Design Consultants – AECOM & AARVEE, ICT Consultant- IBI Group Inc. and Landscape Consultant- Clouston Associates. By early 2019 the base master plan was reported as finished — master plan for the AURIC is done — though a separate, more detailed exercise was commissioned specifically for Bidkin: Aurangabad Industrial Township Limited (AITL)... invites RFQ cum RFP from interested bidders for Selection of Consultant for preparation of detailed master plan and design guidelines for infrastructure implementation of Bidkin industrial area in Maharashtra.

Who runs AURIC, and where to find official documents

AURIC is not run by a conventional urban development authority but by a dedicated corporate SPV: AURIC is managed by the Maharashtra Industrial Township Limited (formerly Aurangabad Industrial Township Ltd), a special purpose vehicle and joint venture between the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (formerly Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation).

Official master-plan material, land-use maps and investor documentation are published on the AITL/MITL project website and the national industrial-corridor portal rather than as a single static PDF:

• Project website: auric.city
• National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) project page for Shendra-Bidkin
• Periodic progress notes published by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)

We do not reproduce plan documents here; use the links above for the current, official versions.