Vidarbha industries to get subsidies in 15 days

The state government will clear the backlog of subsidies to industries in Vidarbha in 15 days, Maharashtra industry minister Patangrao Kadam told industrialists here.

The minister also said that the state government has prepared a special package for the overall development of Vidarbha. The package will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting and tabled during the ongoing winter session of the state legislature.

Kadam was addressing industrialists at an interactive meeting organised by the Vidarbha Industries Association at its premises at Udyog Bhawan.

The meeting saw industrialists crossing swords with the state government on the issues of labour, power and industry.

The minister told them that he would take up the issues of labour and power with the respective ministries. As to the industry-related issues, he would consider sympathetically the matters raised by them, he said.

The meeting was attended by principal secretary, industry, V S Dhumal, member of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) Ashok Dhawad, chief executive officer of MIDC Vidyadhar Kanade and technical member of MSEB A B Sethji, besides senior officials of several departments.

Over 50 industrialists and industry representatives were present on the occasion.

The recent move by the labour department to abolish contract labour in certain works in industrial establishments and the introduction of Security Guards Board in Nagpur generated an emotional outburst from industrialists.

They said that the abolishing of contract labour would hit industry badly and many would have to close down.

"The system has been there for so many years and why suddenly there is a proposal to drop it," they said.

It was also not proper, they said, for the government to intervene in matters such as the appointment of security guards by industries. Now the units will have to appoint security guards as per the directions of the government, they said.

As these issues concerned the labour ministry, Kadam refrained from making any comments, except saying that the labour ministry should be industry-friendly.

A A Mapkar, senior labour official, additional commissioner, Vidarbha, said that the issue of contract labour was a policy-decision of the government, applicable all over the state.

The department is not outrightly abolishing contract labour but has only started the process for abolition.

As part of this, it has sent notices to industry owners to seek their opinion.

The notices have been sent to 50 factories in Vidarbha, including 12 in Butibori, he said.

However, there has been no instance of harassment to any owner, he said. As for the second issue, the Security Guards Board will regularise the service conditions of security guards who are currently exploited by their employers, Mapkar said.

Besides wages, they would get levy plus the benefits of provident fund, bonus, leave and gratuity, he said.

Similar boards are in operation in Mumbai and Thane since 1982, he said.

VIA president Mohan Agrawal said that the MSEB should introduce special power pricing for Vidarbha as 40 per cent of the state's power is produced in the region.

The burden of transmission and distribution losses incurred during evacuation of power to other regions should not be passed on to consumers in Vidarbha, he said.

He also said that the exemption in electricity duty, valid up to 2004, should be extended by 15 years.