8,220 industries start operations, 16,726 units to join them soon

More than 8,220 industry units with a workforce of over 1.63 lakh have started operations after the government announced relaxations for the industry on April 20,

More than 8,220 industry units with a workforce of over 1.63 lakh have started operations after the government announced relaxations for the industry on April 20, amid the lockdown, said the state industries department.

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According to department officials, the remaining 16,726 units with a workforce of over 3 lakh, which have got permission, are also expected to start in the next couple of days. “Before April 20, almost 14,781 units with a workforce of 3.5 lakh were already operational,” said an official.

While the officials claim that the response from industry has been good, representatives from within the industry said that many of the conditions imposed by the government are impractical and are creating hurdles in restarting the operations. They have now sought relaxations of conditions including transportation of workers and their stay at the workplace.

A nationwide survey conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) recently also indicated that permits for enterprises pass for workers and supply chain movement are the key hurdles for the industry to exit from lockdown.

“For facilitating restart of economic activities, CII has suggested that in non-containment zones, businesses should be allowed to function without requirement of permits and only through intimation to local authorities. Moreover, workers can be permitted to commute based on a letter issued by the employer organisation, with the facility to travel on their vehicles,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general, CII.

Venugopal Reddy, secretary, industries department said that they are taking all the steps very cautiously. “We have received 24,946 applications since April 20 from units which have agreed to fulfil all the conditions imposed by the state government. Of them, 8,220 units with over 1.63 lakh workers have started their operation. They have also got permission for over 2,000 vehicles for transportation of labourers,” Reddy said.

JSW, Ceat, KEC International, POSCO Steel, Sudarshan Chemicals, Ambuja Cement, UltraTech, Uttam Galva Steels, Golden Fibres, Hindustan Unilever are some of the prominent industry units,which have started operations so far.

There are a total of 2,430 large-scale units in the state while micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) units stand at 7,33,010.

Chandrakant Salunkhe, president, Maharashtra Industrial and Economic Development Association (MIEDA) said they are facing multiple issues.

“First of all, the workers are not available. Some are not coming out of fear while some are thinking if they get paid without work then why should they report to work. The other problem is the non-availability of raw material. The government needs to understand the supply chain required for the industrial sector will not work with the opening of only a few segments. There has to be proper planning, else industries will collapse if the lockdown is extended,” Salunkhe said.

Kiran Paturkar, president, Federation of Industries Association, Vidarbha ,said with no work for more than a month, owners are not in a position to arrange transport and accommodation for workers, especially those linked to small-scale industries.

“There has to be some mechanism to ensure that workers can be transported to the units, especially for small scale units. How will they invest in transport costs if there is no work for more than a month? Forcing workers to stay at the workplace or giving accommodation nearby is also not feasible,” Paturkar said.

“Barring Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune Metropolitan Region, dedicated buses for transportation of workers have started in many areas with the help of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), a state-run corporation.

The district administration, based on their discretion and assessment of the situation, is also allowing workers to commute on two-wheelers to where the industries are located in rural areas. The workers are residing close by, but in a controlled manner, the industries secretary said.

“We have already suggested that the state government allow opening of all the industries without many conditions in green zones. However, the government is yet to take a decision,” said a senior official from the state industries department.