Textile corpus proposal to be tabled within fortnight

Despite international restrictions imposed because of use of child labour and other factors, textiles export is expected to increase by 25 per cent, earning the country Rs 32,000 crore in foreign exchange within the next year, the minister said.

A proposal to set up a Rs 120 crore cotton technology mission in conjunction with the Agriculture Ministry would also be placed before the Cabinet, Rana said, adding that it would make for better production and marketing.

Criticising the previous governments for 8220;failing to implement in right earnest8221; the 1985 textile policy, Rana said the expert committee on the new textile policy would be announced by next week.

Maintaining that State governments should relax the Urban Land Ceiling Act to allow takeover of the land of sick mills, the minister said that a lot of such land was locked up in litigations. Simultaneously, however, efforts were underway to turn around the unviable textile units, he said, adding that workers could set up co-operatives, while the last option was to invite in revival experts.

These measures would also help fulfill the BJP8217;s promise of providing 10 crore new job opportunities in the next 10 years, Rana said.

The BJP8217;s ascent to power at the Centre and in Gujarat meant that efforts would be made to make up for the 8220;injustice8221; meted out to the State in the last several years, the Surat MP said, expressing hope that something positive would emerge from the representations made during the recent concluded BJP convention in Gandhinagar.

He was referring specifically to the demands for national project status for the Sardar Sarovar Project, supplying gas to Pipavav and welfare contributions to closed mills and workers from the National Renewal Fund.

To facilitate increasing production of cotton, the Centre planned to adopt around 75 of the 150 cotton-producing villages of Gujarat. Last year 39 villages had been adopted.