In a move that could give an impetus to the industrial development of Chamarajanagar, there are plans to promote the district as a textile and garment hub as it is close to cotton cultivating areas and to create jobs in the district hinterland.
One of the leading players in technical textiles has already evinced interest in establishing a unit at the industrial area at Badanakuppe –Kellamballi at a cost of ₹900 crore.
Though discussions are in the preliminary stages, Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner M.R. Ravi told The Hindu that the private enterprise was serious about setting up the unit to manufacture technical textiles that has industrial applications.
Only last month the Union government approved the constitution of a National Technical Textile Mission to promote the variety that is reckoned to be a sun-rise sector with the global market value pegged at around ₹17.75 lakh crore of which India’s share is estimated to be around ₹1.14 lakh crore.
“The private enterprise was awaiting the launch of the new textile policy and now that it has been rolled out we intend to take forward the discussions on the launch of the project,” said Mr. Ravi.
This is in tune with the current efforts to promote and develop Chamarajanagar as the knitwear hub of Karnataka.
“Our focus is textiles as it is not only labour intensive but also needs semi-skilled or unskilled workers who could be trained. Given the vast manpower in Chamarajanagar, the textile units could help generate jobs, especially for women,” Mr. Ravi added.
Agriculture is the main occupation in the district which was identified as among the most backward regions in the Nanjundappa Committee Report on Regional Imbalances.
Besides, more than 60% of the district is under forest cover and agriculture is the main occupation of the people. While cotton is one of the major crops in Chamarajanagar, its proximity to other cotton-growing areas, like H.D. Kote in Mysuru , besides connectivity to Tamil Nadu, which is a major textile and industrial manufacturing hub, are the reasons for promoting textile industries, according to the district administration.
Also, the industrial areas in Kadakola and Nanjangud in the neighbouring district of Mysuru, is saturated. Feedback from the local industrialists in Mysuru indicated that they were serious about entering Chamarajanagar.
“We have nearly 1,400 acres of well-developed industrial park in the district which has been provided with roads, power connectivity, water etc. It is also about 20 km from Nanjangud industrial area and hence ideally situated,” according to the Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner.
The industrial area was inaugurated 3 years ago and has granite units as well but the focus on textile is expected to create jobs on a large scale.