MADITSSIA demands State govt. to enhance industrial classification to 14% from 4% in Madurai master plan

Last week, amidst much fanfare, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin released the master plan for Madurai.

Welcoming the plan initially, many trade and industry bodies said that it would facilitate the economy grow faster and multiple stake holders would stand to benefit.

However, the Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA) has expressed its concern and appealed to the government to enhance the industrial classification up to 14%, which is a meagre 4% now in the master plan.

The MADITSSIA president V. Senthikumar told media persons on Saturday that only when the industrial plots or zones were provided on a huge land parcel, big units would look at investment opportunities here. In the current master plan, the allocation is poor and if it was not enhanced, there would not be big scope for industrial presence in Madurai for the next two decades.

While there is an abundant potential for export of textile, packaging, rubber moulding, engineering, food processing, medical devices and service industries in Madurai, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar districts, poor allocation of land had come as a big disappointment.

Explaining that industrial estates established by the SIDCO would benefit MSMEs, he said that the scope for setting up new ones or widening existing industrial estates with more infrastructure alone would help the entrepreneurs.

Presently, the three estates in Madurai (Pudur, Kappalur and at Sakkimangalam were insufficient for achieving growth in multiple digits and Mr Senthikumar urged for more allocation.

If the government looks into the demand favourably, many units in and around Sellur, Pudur, Jaihindpuram and other pockets may move out to the estate, where there would be amenities.

In the event of non-addressing the issue, he said the industrial development may be at a micro level for the next 20 years. However, he was confident of getting a favourable response from the government and said that the MADITSSIA would submit memoranda to the two Ministers – P Moorthy and Palanivel Thiaga Rajan in this regard and also to the Industry Minister TRB Rajaa.