The textile spinning sector in Tamil Nadu is caught between external factors such as the US-China trade war and domestic issues such as excess capacity and rising raw material and transportation costs .

The proposal of Tangedco (Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation) to curtail certain benefits such as wind power banking, group captive power purchase by MSMEs for less than one MW and removal of old windmills is adding to the woes of the spinning sector.

The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) Chairman Ashwin Chandran has appealed to the State Chief Minister for status quo on energy policies in Tamil Nadu.

Stating that there is no incentive for investing in the textile industry in Tamil Nadu, the SIMA chief said the government should continue with the existing energy benefits.

“There are over 1,500 micro, small and medium sized textile mills operating in the State. These mills source open access power either under group captive or their own windmills. The State government issued a GO in April 2018, curtailing open access to industrial units having less than one MW. This denial would ruin the 1,500-odd mills, their survival is already at stake,” Chandran said.

The association has also sought extension of wind mills banking facility beyond March 2020. It also asked the government not to insist on removal of wind mills so long as they have the stability to perform and generate power.

Chandran also came down heavily on the levy of one per cent Agricultural Market Committee fee on cotton waste. “No other State in the country levies such a fee on cotton waste. There is no logic in the levy of such a fee on the byproduct of cotton.”

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