Maharashtra chief minister, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis has said that the government would help National Textile Corporation (NTC) shut its mills in Mumbai and develop the land, provided it sets up textile units in Amravati. The condition is to set up the mills there, operationalize them and only then would the government allow NTC to commercially exploit its land in Mumbai, Mr. Fadnavis told at a meeting with NTC Official recently.
To facilitate the shifting of the eight defunct mills of NTC and those in the process of being shut down, the state government has set up a six-member committee headed by additional chief secretary (textiles) Sunil Porwal.
NTC has bought 40 acres in Vidarbha where it plans to set up four mills in lieu of the four it is planning to shut down in Mumbai. Of the 25 mills it owns in Mumbai, eight have already been shut down.
Currently, the state government offers 10% capital subsidy and 5-7% interest subsidy to those setting up textile units in the cotton-growing areas. The interest subsidy is for all units even those that are set up in Satara, Solapur, Ichalkaranji, which do not produce cotton. The increase in capital subsidy may become a sore point in these parts of the state.
Under the state’s textile policy, 738 units have been sanctioned. Of these, 246 units are already operational and provide employment to 10,800 people.