The Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) recently urged Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray and the State Government in a letter to take concrete steps towards the urgent opening of shopping malls in the state, which have been shut due of the lockdown after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It must be mentioned here that there are over 75 malls across Maharashtra, with almost 50 percent in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Pune, on the other hand, has over 20 per cent malls, while the rest are spread across Amravati, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Nasik, Nagpur, Aurangabad, etc.
Apart from affecting malls in the state, the lockdown has also delayed the plans of over 30 malls that are under construction.
SCAI’s letter to Aaditya Thackeray underlined that jobs of 50 lakh (5 million) people in modern retail may face difficult times in the absence of an urgent action by the State Government.
“The retailers and shopping centres have now started expressing that it is becoming difficult every passing day to meet day-to-day expenses including salaries due to zero revenue and cash reserves drying up, over the last few months,” read the letter, further warning,“The first big impact could be seen as early as August 2020.”
The letter also read that retailers’ stocks worth hundreds of lakhs may lose their value, and thereby impact businesses significantly, if not sold immediately.
The industry has already witnessed over Rs. 100,000 crore of losses, said Amitabh Taneja, Chairman, SCAI, adding that since Maharashtra is a critical market for shopping malls, delay in their opening will “prove to be a death knell for us.”
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
