Kerala - Alappuzha   

Industrial development policy of State a success: Isaac

DEVELOPMENT MANTRA: Revenue Minister

ALAPPUZHA: The alternative industrial development policy implemented by the Left Democratic Front government in the State has turned out to be a winning move, with the success story of the public sector units (PSUs) here doing away with the anti-development tag that the State bore, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has said.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the Komalapuram Spinning & Weaving Mills, the first instance of a private venture being taken over by a State to run it as a public sector unit here on Tuesday, Mr. Isaac said the government had stuck, and still remained so, to the stance that it would do everything that was required to help development in the State, but without compromising on environment protection norms, land usage regulations and protection of the rights of workers.

Only five of the State's PSUs, several of them which were on the verge of being shut down and handed over on a platter to the private sector by the previous UDF government, now remained to register profits.

The rest, which had clocked accumulated losses of Rs.70 crore in 2005-2006, had jointly registered profits of Rs.240 crore last year, he said.

This profit was now being pumped into new public sector ventures, eight of which were being opened this year, that too at a time when PSUs in other States were struggling to get rid of their ‘sick industry' label.

Critics should bear in mind that if PSUs could stand within the environment conservation, workers' right protection and land usage regulations and still earn profits, so could be the private sector. The LDF government was not against private sector; it firmly believed that private investment was inevitable to take the State forward, which was why the government was committed to providing all necessary basic infrastructure and to create an investment/industrial-friendly atmosphere here, he said.

Industries Minister Elamaram Karim, presiding over the function, said the government was pumping in capital investment to the tune of Rs.475 crore into the public sector this fiscal, the first such investment in the State in the last 25 years.

The Rs.36 crore-Komalapuram venture, to be operated by the State Textiles Corporation, would become operational by December this year and would offer jobs strictly to eligible local residents. Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran handed over the machine purchase order for the firm, which has 19 spinning frames, an employment potential of 500 persons and a production capacity of 15,000 metres of cloth a day.

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Industrial development policy of State a success: Isaac

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