Maharashtra Textile Minister Chairs Meeting To Address Power Loom Worker Issues

Mumbai, Jul 10 (KNN) In a significant development for Maharashtra's textile industry, State Textile Minister Chandrakant Patil chaired a meeting on Tuesday to address the longstanding issues faced by power loom workers.

The meeting, attended by key stakeholders including Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) Pravin Datke, focused on revitalising the sector and improving worker welfare.

Datke, representing Nagpur, proposed several measures aimed at attracting younger generations to the textile industry.

These include establishing textile polytechnic and engineering institutes, as well as implementing skill development programmes in textile-dominated regions.

A key proposal put forward was the creation of a Textile Workers' Economic Development Corporation to oversee welfare schemes for workers' families.

Datke also suggested setting up a mini textile park, or powerloom hub, on the 35,000 square foot premises of Empress Mill in Nagpur.

To address production costs, the implementation of a previously announced electricity subsidy was advocated.

This would reduce rates to Rs0.75 per unit for loom operators using between 27 HP and 201 HP, along with a special grant of Rs1 per unit.

Additional recommendations included simplifying online registration for electricity rate concessions and introducing a 5 per cent interest subsidy scheme with immediate fund disbursal.

Minister Patil assured attendees that these proposals would be presented to the cabinet for swift approval at the government level.

The meeting marks a potentially significant step towards addressing the challenges faced by Maharashtra's power loom sector and its workers.

(KNN Bureau)