The one third textile entrepreneur stipulation in forming Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) in setting up Integrated Textile Parks (ITPs) is proving to be a stumbling block in Odisha, according to state government officials who want the centre to relax the rules for smooth implementation of the scheme.

As per stipulations, the SPV would require eight entrepreneurs one-third of which should be from the textile manufacturing sector. Finding such entrepreneurs with huge investment proposals is very difficult in a state where the textile industry is in a poor shape, a senior official of the state handlooms, textiles and handicrafts department, observed.

Entrepreneurs will come forward automatically to set up their plants when an ITP is ready with the requisite infrastructure but not before that, he said implying that the union ministry’s rule on inviting proposals from textile entrepreneurs was “just not possible” in the current scenario.

The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) had in January this year participated in the expression of interest (EOI) floated by the union ministry of textiles (MoT) for setting up a textile park in Bhadrakh district, where land and other infrastructure is available.

Officials, pointed out that IDCO is eligible for setting up the park as it can develop the requisite infrastructure, which will be helpful for entrepreneurs. However, the textile minister seems reluctant over giving in-principle approval to IDCO for ITP and has sought the list of investors in textile sector before giving the green signal.

Meanwhile, IDCO too has floated an EOI for inviting investors in the textile parks. But state government officials are of the view that the textile minister should not insist on such the list of textile entrepreneurs as a pre-requisite and should relax the rules at a time when Odisha is trying to revive the sick Orissa Textile and many other spinning mills.