SIMA members indecisive on shifting to western India

30 Nov '12

2 min read

Amid the ongoing problem of frequent power cuts, Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) members are still indecisive about the shifting of textile spinning mills to other states, especially the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Mr. K Selvaraj, Secretary General of SIMA, told fibre2fashion, “Many representatives from Maharashtra and Gujarat have approached SIMA to start new textile mills in their states. Maharashtra state government principal secretary had an interaction with SIMA members. Some investment promotion agencies from Gujarat had also made a presentation about the investment policies of the state.”

“Despite many incentives being offered by the governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra, we cannot immediately decide, as identification of proper location, availability of labor, culture of states, etc., needs to be considered,” he says.

“At present, only five percent of the SIMA members may want to shift their textile mills to these states and majority of the members think that the current power shortage is a short-term problem and we should not shift our units,” he adds.

Talking about the textile industry situation in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Selvaraj says, “One third of the textile business in the country is in Tamil Nadu. Buyers worldwide prefer to purchase yarn, fibre and other textile goods from Tamil Nadu because our spinning sector is very appreciable and cost effective, especially in terms of quality.”

Continuing further, he says, “But in the long run, the state may not remain an attractive destination if the acute power shortage continues. At present, we are getting only 5-6 hours of power a day and there is no immediate solution for this problem.”

“We had a discussion with the textile secretary and he said the power cut issue is a short-term problem. He assured us that there is no need to panic and the problem will get resolved by May next year,” he reveals.

Moreover, Tamil Nadu has got many skilled laborers, but the textile units in other states depend on unskilled migrant workers. “So, we have to consider this aspect also prior to deciding on relocating our textile mills to other states,” Mr. Selvaraj avers.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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