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Amid Kitex pull out threat, CM says Kerala is best
Though the state government started the firefighting, the firm said there is no going back on its decision as of now.
Amid the threat of textile major Kitex Group to pull out of the ₹3,500 crore project in Kerala, alleging witch-hunt by the state government agencies, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said Kerala is one of the most investor-friendly states and it is committed to sustainable and innovative enterprises.
After Kitex Group’s announcement last week, many neighbouring states rolled out the red carpet to it and offered many SOPs. Though the state government started the firefighting, the firm said there is no going back on its decision as of now. After the controversy, many economists have pointed out that the state’s “so-called aversion to big industries” is one of the reasons for its growing unemployment and subsequent export of human resources.
Later Harsh Goenka, chairman of the RPG Enterprises, praised the state saying it is one of the largest employers in Kerala and it got enough support from the state government. “We are the largest employers of Kerala. We find the local government very supportive,” he tweeted. The CM re-tweeted the industrialist profusely, thanking him.
“Thank you for allaying apprehensions over the ease of doing business in Kerala. Your honesty is much appreciated. Kerala has been one of the most investor-friendly states and continues to be so. The LDF government ensures that sustainable and innovative industries grow here,” the CM tweeted.
Later well-known business tycoon from the state MA Youseff Ali has also urged the Kitex Group to reconsider its decision. “The exit of the group will send bad signals. I requested both, Kitex and the government, to amicably all settle issues,” he said in Dubai.
State industry minister P Rajeev reiterated that the government will look into all complaints of the firm and requested its chairman Sabu M Jacob not to take any hasty decision, which he said, will tarnish the state’s image. Kerala is ranked eighth in the country in ease of doing business. The announcement has rattled the government which is having uneasy ties with the firm after it ventured into politics in 2015 by floating a political party called ‘Twenty20.’
Kitex Group chairman Sabu M Jacob said there is no going back on his decision. “Almost everyday officials of the government department descend on the premises of the company and make inquiries as if we committed a big fraud. I am fed up with continuous harassment. The government treats us like bourgeoises, exploiter capitalists and land encroachers. Enough is enough,” he said, adding that he was firm on his decision. He said at least three dozen charges were slapped on him and his firm was in the state for the last three decades.
Besides calling off the project which was signed in the 2020 investor meet in Kochi, he said he will also be shifting some of the existing units to other states if the situation continued like this. He said the plan was to open three apparel parks in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad as part of the industrial corridor intended to give jobs to at least 35,000 people. Headquartered in Kochi, the firm now gives 15,000 employment and exports ready-made apparel to many western countries.
The ‘Twenty20 ‘is a party floated by the Kitex Group in 2015 and it now controls four local bodies in Ernakulam district. Asked whether the latest harassment had anything to do with the party he floated, he said, it multiplied after Twenty20 came into existence.
