Arjun Singh
Surat (Gujarat) [India], May 13: If all goes well, the largest man-made fabric (MMF) hub in the country, located in Surat, is about to take a giant leap ahead. In response to the Gujarat Government’s plan to establish the Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM MITRA), an inspection team from the Union Ministry of Textiles visited Vansi-Borsi in the Jalalpore taluka of Navsari to assess the viability of establishing the MITRA park on May 10.
The Central team members from the Union Textile Ministry including Joint Secretary of Textile Ministry, IAS Prajakta Varma, Deputy Secretary, Ravi Shanker Shukla, and the director of the Office of Textile Commissioner, Mumbai Saurabh Kulkarni conducted a joint with the textile industry stakeholders, Joint Managing Director of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) DB Prajapati and chief engineer BC Warli, Navsari’s district collector Amit Prakash and officials of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) to discuss the viability of the PM Mitra park at Vansi-Borsi in Navsari.
At the meeting held at the Platinum hall of the Surat International Exhibition and Convention Centre (SIECC) at Sarsana, Ashish Gujarati, President of SGCCI said, “Even three PM Mitra parks of 1,000 acres each will not be sufficient to accommodate Surat’s textile industry.” “For the fast-paced investment in PM Mitra scheme, the industry players should be given swift clearance under the Textiles Technology Development Scheme (TTDS) and the government should come up with the policy on ‘renewable energy’ on a priority basis.”
GIDC’s joint managing director and chief engineer presented the statistical information before the Central Inspection team on the feasibility of the PM Mitra scheme at Vansi-Borsi village in Navsari’s Jalalpore taluka.
Textile industry stakeholders in attendance claimed that they have been waiting to put up units since the PM Mitra scheme was introduced since land costs in Surat had risen dramatically. To reduce production costs, textile businesses must be able to obtain land at reasonable prices. Surat has a high demand for textile manufacturing and expansion. Even three PM Mitra parks will not be enough to meet Surat’s growing textile sector needs.
Textile stakeholders, while interacting with the Central team members, predicted that the PM MITRA Park in Navsari’s Vansi-Borsi will be fully operational within three years of its opening. A shared captive power plant, Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) with a common boiler, Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), and a housing project for textile workers should all be included in the PM MITRA Park. The Khar land in Vansi-Borsi near the PM Mitra Park should be exploited to generate wind and solar energy.
The meeting was attended by BS Agarwal, chairman of PM Mitra Park committee of SGCCI, Bharat Gandhi chairman of Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry (FIASWI), Dhirubhai Shah chairman of Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), Ashok Jirawala chairman of Federation of Gujarat Weavers Welfare Association (FOGWA), Dipak Sheta of Saurashtra Textile Traders Association, Mahendra Kukadia president of Surat Texmac Federation, Suresh Patel secretary of South Gujarat Texturisers Association, Sanjay Saraogi of Laxmipati Group, Ravind Arya of Madhusudan Group, representative of common Boiler Project Vishal Budia and environment expert Kunhal Shah.
Honorary secretary of SGCCI, Dipak Kumar Shethwala conducted the entire meeting, and SGCCI’s President-Elect, Himanshu Bodawala presented the vote of thanks.
