The Hindu Business Line : Irungattukottai apparel park cries out for support

Chennai, Sept. 7 The Apparel Park at Irungattukottai continues to be plagued with infrastructure problems and there has been no effort to improve the situation either, according to the Apparels and Handloom Exporters Association (AHEA).

The roads are in bad shape, there is no means of internal transportation, the lights do not function, there is an acute shortage of labour and there is no facility to get any food… these are some of the problems the exporters face.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Ranjit P. Shah, President, AHEA, noted that officials of the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamilnadu (SIPCOT) had promised to address the infrastructure problems in the Park back in November 2007, but the problems continue.

Huge expenses

Mr Shah said SIPCOT insisted that the allotted units start implementing their projects, failing which the allotments are liable to be cancelled. The units functioning from Irungattukottai have been incurring huge expenditure in order to hold on to the allotments.

Mr Prakash C. Sancheti, Vice-President, AHEA, said that those entrepreneurs who are yet to commence work are waiting for “some sign of improvement of the facilities” at the park to move forward. Expansion plans have been put on hold, resulting in loss of business.

A member of the association said that a few years ago the acres were leased at Rs 7 lakh and now he cannot sell the property to another person due to the lease agreement. According to the agreement, the unit has to be given back to the government which deducts 20 per cent of the original lease price.

“We seem to have losing propositions in all fronts; we would have to sell it at a lesser price and if we continue production at the Apparel Park, the infrastructure problems only lead to higher production costs,” Mr Sancheti said.

Problem of Labour

SIPCOT had promised to provide a design and training centre, common effluent plant, hospital, canteen, child day care centre, and a working women hostel. Mr Sancheti said that when the Apparel Park was envisaged in 2003 at Irungattukottai, it was felt that labour from in and around the neighbouring areas would be employed as the textiles industry is labour-intensive.

Now that Irungattukottai has become the home of several multinational companies, finding labour has become very difficult for the textile industry. Consequently, workers have to be brought in from distant places and given food and stay — all these added to costs, he said.

More Stories on : Readymade Garments | Infrastructure | Tamil Nadu

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