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Journalism of Courage
AHMEDABAD, April 21: Union Textiles Minister Kanshiram Rana has suggested that the workers of the sick NTC mills all over the country would be offerred an attractive Voluntary Retirement Scheme VRS based on the Gujarat pattern. Addressing journalists over video-tele-conferencing organised by the NIC in four cities simultaneously including Ahmedabad, Rana said that he would also review the textiles policy of 1985.
Only about 40 out of the 119 NTC mills are in a position of rehabilitation and the government is spending a whopping Rs 360 crore annualy in idle wages. In fact, Rs 4,400 crore has already been spent on idle wages so far. Of the nearly one lakh workers sitting idle, nearly 15,000 are in Gujarat.
Of the money to be recovered by sale of prime lands of NTC mills, Rs 1,780 crore has to be recovered from Mumbai only. Like his predecessors, Rana sought to assure workers that once the money is in they would be offerred handsome compensation under the VRS.
In another important statement, Rana said that his ministry has proposed to launch a technology upgradation fund for textiles and jute industry in the Ninth Five Year Plan. For modernisation and technological upgradation, a fund would be created to provide a suitable interest incentive. It is expected that borrowing in the textiles industry would in excess of Rs 26,000 crore over the next five years.
Commenting on cotton export, Rana said that presently almost no raw cotton was being exported as domestic market was snapping it up. But the ministry is keen on early launch of the technology mission on cotton. The NIC organised video-tele-conferencing took the images to Calcutta, Chennai and Ahmedabad from the main conference venue in Shatri Bhawan in New Delhi.
