With no respite from power outages ranging from 12 to 14 hours in Tamil Nadu, barring Chennai, a large number of textile mills are planning to shift their operations to states like Maharashtra or Gujarat, which have textile-friendly policy in existence and also availability of power.
Since addition of spindlage or increasing the production capacity remained dormant for the last three years due to power problem, some spinning mill owners, both small and large, recently met and discussed the issue of shifting to those states where power, though little costly and cotton, the major raw material, were available in plenty.
According to highly placed sources in Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), despite appeals made by it and other industry captains, power situation remained the same for the last three years, putting the textile industry in dolldrums in Tamil Nadu particularly when the industry was heading toward a revival path. Normally the textile mills in Tamil Nadu, which has 23 Million spindles, added seven to eight lakh spindles annually, with Coimbatore contributing 40 per cent.
In order to pave way for the spinners, SIMA has recently organised a meeting, where officials of Maharashtra and Gujarat presented invited the spinners with a provision of a 'good package, for the investors, the soruces said. Some of the members have decided to shift to these States and already started spadework. As the Gujarat is facing elections in December, the industries here are waiting for the results and formation of a Government, they said.
