Sick textile mills relocation to Amravati likely to push Vidarbha’s cotton economy

The four sick textile units – three from Mumbai and one from Solapur are to be relocated to Nandgaonpeth textile zone in Amravati. The Nandgaonpeth textile zone has been allocated 40 hectares land and is located 17km from Amravati on National Highway 6. This move is likely to give the much-needed push to Vidarbha’s cotton economy.

The four units which are to be relocated are Mumbai’s Indu Mill, Poddar Mill and Tata Textiles and Barshi Textile Mills of Solapur.

Amravati MLA Dr Sunil Deshmukh had pursued the matter last month as soon as he learnt that Union textile minister Santosh Gangwar was keen on relocating sick textile mills from Mumbai. He rushed to Delhi on December 17 and took help of Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. They convinced Gangwar that relocation of the sick units to Amravati would serve a better purpose in the farmer suicide zone.

According to Deshmukh, around Rs2000 crore would be pumped in for reviving and relocating the four units to Nandgaonpeth. The four mills would turn the corner once they are relocated also
more than 5,000 jobs are expected to be created in the textile zone.

The Nitin Gadkari-Devendra Fadnavis duo has once again come to play for the region’s benefit. Lack of policy and failure of the region’s political leaders till now had led to a situation where more than 80% of cotton produced in Vidarbha was shipped out for processing. This missing link in the cotton chain – processing and value addition – is expected to make a huge difference to the region where cotton growers were driven to commit suicide because of poor returns in the last two decades.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after a high-level meeting in Mumbai on Friday, made it clear that he was proposing to shift nine more such sick units controlled by National Textile Corporation (NTC) to Vidarbha so that the cotton grown in the region is processed here instead of being shipped out.

The CM has made it a rule that if a textile mill owner wants to shut shop and use the land for real estate, he will have to shift the factory elsewhere so that there is no loss of employment. This policy is expected to benefit the backward regions of the state.

On Saturday, addressing Youth Empowerment convention organized by BJP MLC Anil Sole in the city, Fadnavis reiterated that henceforth no textile mill would be allowed to close down. It would be revived through relocation of the unit as well as the employees. A high-level committee comprising officials of state textile, labour departments, NTC and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has been set up to facilitate relocation of the units.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, said that industrializing Vidarbha is his first priority. The region is industrially as well as economically backward, hence it will be given priority over industrialized parts of the state.

Also ‘Make in Vidarbha’ will get a big push under the ‘Make in Maharashtra’ mission. This is to attract foreign as well domestic investment to the state. As an incentive for ‘Make in Vidarbha’, the government has decided to waive off cross subsidy surcharge (CSS) in Vidarbha so that industries can purchase power from outside at cheap rates. The CM has told the MIDC industrialists to take full advantage of the sops being given to them.