Aggrieved by the ‘humiliating experience’ meted out by government agencies conducting inspections, the garment manufacturer Kitex Group intends to back out from the proposed ₹3,500 crore investments in Kerala.

The company had announced these investments in the Global Investor Meet in 2020 including setting up an apparel park and three industrial parks in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad by 2025, generating more than 25,000 job opportunities in the State.

The company’s decision comes in the wake of surprise inspections by a team of 40-50 officials from various government agencies including Labour Department, Factories and Boilers on the compliance of various rules and regulations. There were 11 inspections in the month of June itself, questioning the workers including the women. They could not even detect any violations in the premises and inform the company on the reasons for carrying out such inspections, said Sabu Jacob, Chairman, Kitex Group said. He said he is not against any such inspections, but there should be some norms for all. Kitex had been operating in the State for several decades by providing employment to more than 10,000 workers.

Meanwhile, P Rajeeve, the State Industries Minister said that the Department came to know about the complaint raised by Kitex through social media and he clarified that industries department has not conducted any inspections or raids in the production unit of the company. However, the government will seriously look into complaints raised by the company and extend all support to those who come forward to set up units in the State.

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