Punjab Cabinet Approves Integrated Manufacturing Cluster Near Rajpura, Patiala District (July 2020)

What was decided

To further boost the state's economy and industrial infrastructure, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved setting up of a Modern Industrial Park and Integrated Manufacturing Cluster over an area of 2000 acres on Government and Panchayati land near Mattewara (Ludhiana) and Rajpura in Patiala district, respectively, at a total cost of Rs. 3200 crore. The two projects would be instrumental in accelerating the pace of industrialisation and creating enormous employment potential to ensure the state's economic progress, an official spokesperson said, after a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh through video conferencing.

The projects were to be set up at a cost of Rs 1600 crore each, in an area of 1000 acres each, catering to the needs of prospective entrepreneurs/industrialists for setting up their ventures expeditiously, in line with the urgent need to develop such industrial/economic hubs in the state. The then Chief Minister confirmed the decision publicly the same day, stating on social media that "Punjab Cabinet has approved setting up of Modern Industrial Park in Mattewara (Ludhiana) & Integrated Manufacturing Cluster near Rajpura (Patiala) at a total cost of Rs 3200 Cr to further boost industrial development & generate employment."

Operative details: who develops what

The Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) near Rajpura would be developed with the assistance of National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation on 1000 acres of government and panchayat land. This distinguishes the Rajpura component from the Mattewara park, which was to be a state-led Modern Industrial Park/Mix Land Use Development.

The Cabinet's official land break-up disclosed at the time related mainly to the Mattewara site: out of 955.6 acres, 207.07 acres belonged to Animal Husbandry department, 285.1 acres of Rehabilitation Department (Potato Seed Farm), 416.1 acres of Gram Panchayat, Sekhowal, 27.1 acres of Gram Panchayat, Salempur (Potato Seed Farm) and 20.3 acres of Gram Panchayat, Sailklan. Detailed village-wise land break-up for the Rajpura side was not part of the same press note; later NICDC project material for Rajpura-Patiala cites a somewhat different final footprint (see Practical Effect below).

Context: why two projects, and what happened to the other one

The 2020 Cabinet decision bundled two separate industrial-land approvals together: with the Centre's help, the state planned to develop three mega industrial parks over 1,000 acre each to cater to the demands of the industry – one with special emphasis on textile industry near Mattewara (Ludhiana), a bulk drug park was proposed in Bathinda and an integrated manufacturing cluster was conceptualised on the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor near Rajpura in Patiala district. Of these, the Mattewara project was scrapped following intense protest by civil society groups and environmentalists, and the bulk drug park in Bathinda also did not see the light of day and was shifted to Himachal Pradesh.

The Mattewara park drew sustained opposition because part of the identified land sat near protected forest and the Sutlej river; the Punjab cabinet's July 2020 approval of an industrial park near the Mattewara forest range and Sutlej river triggered protests, while the government maintained it would boost the economy and environment potential. The Chief Minister responded publicly that not a single tree would be uprooted, nor would an inch of forest land be taken, and the acquired land did not include an inch of the 2300 acres of Mattewara Forest. The Rajpura IMC, by contrast, faced no comparable environmental controversy and proceeded.

Practical effect: from state Cabinet nod to central approval

The 2020 Punjab Cabinet decision was a state-level precursor. It flagged the site, the intended NICDC partnership, and an indicative Rs 1,600 crore/1,000-acre scale — but it did not by itself sanction central funding or a Special Purpose Vehicle. That step came later, on 28 August 2024, when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Rajpura-Patiala IMC as one of 12 new nodes under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP): the CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting held in New Delhi on 28 August 2024, approved the development of 12 new projects in the country's 6 major Industrial Corridors, an estimated investment of Rs 28,602 crore across all 12 nodes, with Rajpura-Patiala in Punjab among them.

Following the central approval, NICDC's own project page records a revised, finalised footprint and cost for the node: the Rajpura-Patiala IMC, spanning 1,099 acres, holds an investment potential of ₹7,500 crore and is expected to generate over 64,000 jobs, with a project cost of ₹1,367 crore. Implementation is structured as a 50:50 joint venture between the Central and Punjab governments managing this investment through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). By mid-2025, environmental clearance had also been secured: SEIAA, Punjab has granted Environmental Clearance for the Rajpura-Patiala Integrated Manufacturing Cluster, a flagship project under the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor, being developed as part of the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme. (Environmental Clearance news dated June 2025.)

Land use and site details (post-2024 finalisation)

Once the central approval and site planning progressed, the following operative figures were published for the node: the land distribution shows careful planning — 60% goes to industrial plots, 15% to green spaces and water bodies, and 14% to transportation infrastructure, with the remainder for institutional, residential, commercial and utility uses. Businesses can choose from industrial plots ranging from 0.5 to 35 acres, costing about 3 crore rupees per acre as reported in mid-2025 coverage. The site is at the junction of NH-44 and NH-64, ensuring connectivity to Chandigarh, Mohali, Ludhiana, and Ambala.

Status disclaimer

This record distinguishes two separate government actions: (1) the Punjab state Cabinet's notification/approval of 8 July 2020, which was an in-principle, state-level decision to earmark land and partner with NICDC; and (2) the Government of India's CCEA approval of 28 August 2024, which sanctioned central funding and formal inclusion in the NICDP. Land acquisition, fencing, and environmental clearance (June 2025) followed after the 2024 central approval. As of the most recent reporting found (mid-2025), the project is in the land-acquisition/site-preparation and environmental-clearance stage, not yet operational.