HT This Day: April 13, 1958 -- India’s biggest industrial estate at Okhla
The Prime Minister was inaugurating India’s biggest industrial estate at Okhla, a New Delhi suburb, on Saturday.
INDIA was and would be a land of paradoxes and while she would take full advantage of automation and atomic energy for peaceful reconstruction and industrialization, the ‘takli,’ the charkha and the bullock cart would also continue to exist side by side, said Mr. Nehru.
The Prime Minister was inaugurating India’s biggest industrial estate at Okhla, a New Delhi suburb, on Saturday.
Mr Nehru said the predominant consideration underlying industrial development was how best to utilize the country’s colossal manpower and thus abate economic distress.
Machines and robots were the symbols of human prosperity in this age of rapid advancement, but one must take care that in adopting these agencies they remained slaves of man and not the other way round. Particular care should be taken that in accepting modern techniques no unemployment is brought about.
Referring to industrial advancement, “ a revolution to achieve a welfare State as distinguished from the revolution we waged to obtain freedom, “ Mr Nehru made a fervent appeal for a complete reorientation of employer-employee relations. To the employers he appealed that they take an abiding interest in the welfare of the workers in the same way they took care of costly machinery in the factories, for, without a physically strong worker, it was not possible to obtain optimum production capacity from machines.
Referring particularly to the Okhla estate which has not yet provided housing facilities for its workers, Mr Nehru said it was most important to see that adequate housing accommodation was made available without delay. Otherwise the poor workers would continue to live in slums, and thing in unhealthy surroundings the workers would not be able to give of their best.
A large number of workers employed in the Estate were present id the opening ceremony, and the Prime Minister advised them that while they fought for better living standards, they should not indulge in any activities that would hamper production. Strikes and lockouts in certain basic industries like iron and steel were costing the country an annual loss of ₹6 crores and in order to see that the supply of these basic industrial raw materials did not hold up industrialization in other spheres, it was necessary to import them from abroad, which again caused a drain in our foreign exchange resources.
EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL
It was not enough to have only 100 industrial estates but there must be thousands, because, with increasing production of industrial raw materials, there must be widespread ancillary industries to consume them. Like cottage industries, small and medium-scale industries were intended to utilize the vast manpower and provide gainful employment to millions of people.
Requesting the Prime Minister to inaugurate the Estate, Mr Lal Bahadur Shastri. Union Minister for Industries and Commerce, said India had taken the cue from Britain and Japan who were pioneers in working industrial estates. He said sustained efforts were being made to build up industrial, estates all over the country and appealed to those who were participating in this venture not to despair if there were initial difficulties. At the Allahabad industrial estate there had been such complaints, but he hoped all the difficulties would be removed. The Government, he said, would be glad to extend all the necessary facilities.
He paid a tribute to those who were participating in the Okhla venture. It was proposed to increase the size of the estate by order to accommodate the growing number of applications for starting new ventures. Presently housing facilities for workers were not available, but proper transport and other conveniences had been arranged and it was hoped that as the estate continued to expand this aspect also would be given proper attention.
Proposing a vote of thanks, Mr A. S. E. Iyer, said the response for space in the estate was so encouraging that it was proposed to acquire another 70 acres to accommodate pending applications, which would mean that there would be facilities for 200 manufacturing units instead of the 120 originally planned.
Mr Nehru went round the various manufacturing units housed in the estate and also visited the exhibition where the products of, the manufacturers were displayed.
P.T.I. adds: Mr Ashfaque Hussain, chairman of the National Small Industries Corporation, which was entrusted with the construction of the Okhla and Allahabad industrial estates said the small industrialists had survived in most discouraging conditions and had been giving a very good account of themselves against heavy odds. The industrial estates, he hoped, would help to instill in them a growing sense of community of interest and a spirit of comradeship and co-operative endeavour.
