The Hindu : Karnataka News : IT puts a spoke in Whitefield industries’ wheel

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Friday, Jul 18, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

IT puts a spoke in Whitefield industries’ wheel

Anil Sastry

Old economy units struggle to find manpower

Whitefield houses more than 700 IT and non-IT industries
Very few engineering industries have survived the IT boom

BANGALORE: Traditional industries in Whitefield, which was once known as a steel corridor of Bangalore, are now crying for the government’s attention, even as the advent of information technology industries has crippled their growth and caused shortage of labour.

At present, Whitefield houses more than 700 IT and non-IT industries.

Very few traditional industries along the Krishnarajapuram-Whitefield road, Devasandra Industrial Estate and Doddanekkundi Industrial Estate coexist with the Information Technology Park and hundreds of IT industries at the Export Promotion Industrial Park and surrounding areas.

The emergence of public sector giants, namely, New Government Electric Factory, Indian Telephone Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and Bharat Earth Movers Ltd had fuelled the growth of engineering industries by energetic private entrepreneurs in and around Whitefield since 1970.

Bhoruka Steel, Mittal Steel, SAN, Alembic Glasses, Alfred Herbert, Graphite India, Usha Martin Industries were some names that established themselves here long ago.

According to D. Suresh Kumar, Managing Committee member of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FKCCI), Whitefield does not have any major steel unit or rolling mill at present. Bhoruka Steels got changed into Bhoruka Steels and Services, where an IT park has come up.

Unfavourable policy

P.C.T. Haran, President, Greater Bangalore Industries’ Association (GBIA), noted that lack of infrastructure, unfavourable industrial policy and dearth of labour have been driving out traditional industries in Whitefield. Despite Whitefield attracting the highest investment in Karnataka, the Government’s response to the problems of this area is lukewarm, he regretted.

He further demanded a clear cut policy as far as diversion of land sanctioned for industrial purposes to non-industrial purposes such as housing and information technology.

Either the Government should declare these (IT and housing) as industries bringing them on a par with traditional industries or ban such diversion.

The government’s silence on this issue is ridiculous as all labour laws are applicable only to traditional industries and not to IT companies, he noted.

GBIA honorary secretary B.G. Kodandaram said very few engineering industries, including VST Tillers and Tractors, Graphite India, Herbert India, IFB and others have survived the IT boom in Whitefield. He said GBIA, founded by the late V.T. Velu, who owned VST, in 1973, was robust in health till 1990 as its members too were in a healthy condition. Presently, the association has 183 members, of which around 100 are active members.

“Devasandra Industrial Area, one of the oldest formed in 1970, now looks like a slum in the midst of posh bungalows with so many IT industries around,” remarked M.R. Kori, president of Devasandra Industrial Association. Many industries were ancillary to ITI and the estate presently has nearly 130 units. He said due to sheer apathy by the administration, the Estate lacks basic civic amenities, in the midst of which the units were performing well.

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