CII laments lack of infrastructure in state

The Maharashtra State Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has expressed concern over the state's infrastructure and labour problems.

Naushad Forbes, chairman of the CII's 'ENCON (Energy Conservation 2003)' body, said the CII could do little to solve the state's general problems like power, labour and infrastructure.

"We can just highlight the bottlenecks. I mean, its really bad that we cannot send out ready-to-export goods just because the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai is not equipped to handle large volumes. We should plan for future growth," he lamented.

Forbes stressed on the fact that Vidarbha needs more efficient transport clearances as the growth of exports from the region was 46 per cent as against the national average of 25 per cent.

"The bottom line is that we need the cargo hub to come in. Then we need a labour agenda as there can be no industrial employment without labour being taken up on the agenda," said Forbes.

He highlighted the fact that the lack of a labour agenda had brought down employment in the state's factories by 15 per cent - from 1.3 million a decade ago to 1.1 million now. "We need labour reforms for the future to look as good as the past," he said.

At its recent meeting here, the Council decided to carry forward its adopted 'Made in Maharashtra' theme. "The council has two roles. First is to work on areas that help companies in the state become more competitive. Second, we need to advocate certain policies by trying to influence and work with the government," said Forbes.

"Additionally, we make it a point to hold our bi-monthly meetings at different places throughout the state rather than just in Mumbai," he pointed out.

R S Singhvi, SBU head of Indo Rama Textiles, said the meet discussed the strengths and weaknesses of Vidarbha and how industries can benefit from the new world order (the post WTO regime).

"We are a naturally very enriched region and our cost structure is very low. We discussed how to capitalise on these advantages," he said.

For example, he said, the textile sectors (which contributes 25 per cent of the country's gross domestic product) could be spruced up. "India share in the world's textile market is only 3 per cent while China commands nearly 23 per cent," he said.

The CII State Council represents 17 direct members and 21 multiple members in the region and a total of 860 members in the entire state.