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Tirupur to be model for infrastructure dvpt

Textiles Committee in talks with pvt agencies for infrastructure dvpt in textile clusters

The Union ministry of textiles has finally realised the dire need for infrastructure for the textile industry, and has appointed the Textiles Committee as the nodal centre for infrastructure development, as part of its cluster development programme. Reena Mital reports.

The Textiles Committee is in negotiations with private infrastructure development agencies for developing infrastructure in the various textile clusters. The committee has drawn up an initial list of clusters, that includes Bhadohi, Surat, Ludhiana, Sanganer, and Karur, Rajapallayam, Erode, etc in the south, for developing the needed infrastructure in these areas. Tirupur would be the model for infrastructure development in these textile centres, it is learnt. The committee will coordinate with a number of government and private agencies for implementing the project.

“The committee is already negotiating with some private infrastructure development agencies for the same. We are in the process of preparing a project report, which will highlight the kind of infrastructure that would be required in the textile centres, ways to establish industry linkages, etc,” stated officials of the Textiles Committee.

Infrastructure development in Tirupur revolved around providing quality water, power, roads, telecommunications. Most of the projects are at various stages of implementation. For instance, the water project is being undertaken by the New Tirupur Area Development Corporation Ltd (NTADCL), which will be commissioned by 2005, and will be of great benefit to the industrial, commercial and household sectors of the knitwear town.

Speaking to Express Textile, Mr Hari Sankaran, executive director, infrastructure, IL&FS, said, “We get a lot of offers for developing infrastructure in various places. But infrastructure development is not enough. The government has to first identify the needs of the cluster, and what are its plans for that particular cluster. Once that is known, it becomes very easy to chalk out the areas in which work needs to be done, to achieve those objectives. In case of the textile clusters, the economic activity is already there, which will support the infrastructure development. This is exactly what happened in Tirupur, and this is the approach that should be adopted by the government for developing infrastructure in the other textile centres too.” Mr Sankaran believes that there is urgent need for infrastructure development in the textile centres, which will finally help the clusters to become competitive, both in terms of quality and price.

The industry has been pressing the government to improve infrastructure facilities in the country, to help it compete with other low cost producers in the world market. Apart from the cluster development programme, the government has also come up with the SEZ policy, and textile and apparel park scheme, to set up all the required infrastructure to boost exports. Around six to seven textile and apparel parks have been approved in various states, and are at various stages of implementation. Similarly, some SEZs have come up, while a number of them are in the process of being set up. However, the textile industry has not been very enthusiastic about these zones and parks, as it believes that the infrastructure is still not up to the mark, and the procedures are still very cumbersome.