Government yet to release funds for land purchase
Estimated cost of the project is Rs. 52 crore
Rs. 20 lakh already paid towards land purchase
GULBARGA: The long-cherished dream of a textile park with state-of-the-art facilities for traditional garment manufacturers in Gulbarga and its surrounding areas continues to remain a dream. The State Government’s share of funds for the project is yet to be released as a result of which the project is yet to take off.
Garment manufacturing is a cottage industry in Gulbarga and provides employment to more than 5,000 families, a majority of whom are women tailors. The manufacturers, besides having their own units, also provide the cloth and other raw material, which the tailors use to make garments.
Local garment makers say the entry of branded companies even in small cities and a cost reduction in apparel by such heavyweights has affected them badly. “If not for the continuing demand from people in rural areas and small towns, we might have had to pack up long ago,” said Ashwini Miskin, a woman entrepreneur who runs a fairly large garment manufacturing establishment in Shahabazaar area.
“We cannot survive for long if we do not upgrade the quality and design of the garments we make to match branded products. For that we require a textile park with modern facilities,” said Managing Director of Gulbarga Textile Park Pvt. Ltd. Laxmansa C. Gangji. The establishment of the textile park would also encourage branded companies to sub-contract manufacturing to local operators, he added.
After the State Government approved the establishment of the textile park and the Union Government also gave its approval, the Gulbarga Garment Manufacturers’ Association promoted a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the name of the Gulbarga Textile Park Pvt. Ltd to help establish the project. The Government allotted 50 acres of land in the KIADB Industrial Estate at Nandur near Gulbarga for the purpose.
The cost of land was fixed at Rs. 2.70 crore and the SPV has so far managed to pay the KIADB Rs. 20 lakh. The latter has fixed March 31 as the deadline for the payment of the remainder after which possession of land can be taken. “The Government had promised to release Rs. 10 crore from the Special Development Programme (SDP) for the project. Of this, we propose to pay Rs. 2.50 crore to the KIADB for land purchase,” Mr. Gangji said.
“The estimated cost of the textile park project is Rs. 52 crore, of which the share of Gulbarga Textile Park Pvt. Ltd. is 15 per cent. The Union Government will bear 37.7 per cent of the cost while the State Government will foot 19.2 per cent. A subsidy of 8.4 per cent will be given by the State Government and the remaining 19.6 per cent will be raised as loans from nationalised banks,” he said.
Appeal
Mr. Gangji said the Government should immediately release the Rs. 10 crore so that the land transfer could be facilitated.
09 February, 2010 by admin