Centre’s inefficiency pushing textile sector into crisis: KTR

Hyderabad: The Centre’s discrimination against Telangana and its persistent refusal to cooperate with the State government for the uplift of weavers’ community in the State is proving to be dangerous for the textiles sector, TRS working president and Textiles Minister KT Rama Rao said on Sunday. He slammed the BJP government for its inefficient administration […]

Hyderabad: The Centre’s discrimination against Telangana and its persistent refusal to cooperate with the State government for the uplift of weavers’ community in the State is proving to be dangerous for the textiles sector, TRS working president and Textiles Minister KT Rama Rao said on Sunday. He slammed the BJP government for its inefficient administration which was pushing the textiles sector, the country’s second largest employer, into a crisis.

In an open letter to BJP State president Bandi Sanjay on weavers’ welfare on Sunday, Rama Rao said that India, despite being the largest producer of cotton in the world, was far behind neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in terms of textile production. For the first time since Independence, the NDA government imposed GST on textiles pushing the sector into a crisis. “Though the State government made numerous representations to remove GST on textiles to support the weavers’ community, the Centre has failed to respond,” he said.

“Leave alone removing textiles from the GST regime, the Centre is not even willing to reduce the tax rate on the sector though workers and weavers organised numerous agitations and shutdowns. If you or BJP have any commitment and affection left for weavers’, you must persuade the Centre and get the GST on textiles removed,” he demanded.

While the Centre has removed all insurance schemes provided to weavers by the previous governments, the State government took the responsibility and was providing insurance coverage, the Minister said, adding that the State government was also supporting weavers under Nethanna ku Cheyutha scheme, subsidised yarn and other raw materials under Chenetha Mithra, among others.

The Minister rubbished allegations by Sanjay as utter lies and demanded that the latter explain the Centre’s contribution to Kakatiya Mega Textile Park being developed by the Telangana government as India’s largest textile park. He asked whether the weavers’ suicides had not stopped in the State after the TRS came to power.

“The fact that weavers who migrated to Mumbai, Bhiwandi and Surat for livelihood, are now returning to their native places, is a testimony of the welfare programmes launched by the State government for weavers. What is the Centre’s contribution in uplifting the weavers’ lives in the last eight years?” he questioned.

Rama Rao stated that despite repeated requests from the State, the Centre was yet to respond to the proposal for establishment up a Mega Powerloom Cluster, Indian Institute of Handloom Technology and also a National Textile Research Institute.

He said the allegations levelled by Sanjay against the TRS government recently on weavers’ issues had only exposed his lack of knowledge about the sector and its stakeholders. He warned the BJP leaders against spreading lies, failing which the weavers will teach the saffron party a fitting lesson soon.

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