Chennai, Jan 2: Union Textiles Minister Kashiram Rana has written a letter to Chief Minister M Karunanidhi recently turning down the Tamil Nadu Government's request to ban cotton export. The Centre has stated that any ban on cotton export would affect the interests of cotton growers besides bringing considerable revenue loss to the Government. TN Handlooms Minister N K K Periasamy said the reason for the decision was the strong lobby of Punjab and Haryana cotton farmers who influenced the Centre on taking any decision on banning cotton export.Periasamy pointed out that 45 per cent of the total spinning mills in the country are situated in TN. Whereas only five per cent of the total cotton requirement of TN is produced here and the rest is met by purchasing it from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab at higher prices. On an average about 32 lakh bales of cotton is used by the mills in TN of which two lakh bales are utilised by the cooperative spinning mills alone.The Centre's reply hasdisappointed the State, particularly the C M, because he took personal interest and presented memorandum to the Prime Minister on September 15 and October 29, 1998, seeking ban on export of cotton as textile mills in T N was facing severe crisis due to non-availability of sufficient stock of cotton following crop failure. Earlier in September, 1998, the C M had convened a meeting of Government officials, representatives of the textile mill owners and workers unions seeking immediate intervention by the Centre to save the textile industry in T N. Periyasamy added that the State would close down another three of the 18 co-operative spinning mills (one mill is already closed) if workers did not cooperate with it in implementing the Rs 185 crore rehabilitation package announced by the CM last year. Under this, workers would have to agree not to seek wage hikes for three years. It envisaged flow of funds from financial institutions, and scientific work norms. The funds could be drawn only if workers acceptedsuch norms. He said though the workers' leaders had agreed to the package, they have made a volte face later. The State, to protect the workers, had rejected the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee on the functioning of public sector units, to close 10 of the 18 spinning mills.
