Indore, Mar 22 (KNN) About 60 firms have withdrawn their investments from the proposed furniture cluster at Betma Khurd in Indore due to the delay of over a year in allocation and development work.

All these firms were planning to take up land in the proposed furniture cluster.

They have taken their money back from the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) following a delay of over a year in allocation and development work.

Around Rs 5 crore from 110 industrialists had been collected by SPV who were keen to take up land in the furniture cluster for which the government had proposed close to 185 hectare at Betma Khurd.

The project was supposed to be implemented by early 2022.

Indore Furniture Manufacturers and Traders Association president Vinod Bapna, said, “We had received applications from 110 industries for the furniture cluster and we collected money from them but looking at the delay we have returned money to most industries and have retained amount of just 40 small players, who wish to wait for the clearance of land and would be accommodated on priority in the cluster.”

The association said, a few investors have taken private land and some have held back plans due to the delay.

“The development work for the cluster could not start due to objections on land from the forest. The MSME department has intimated to us that of the total land proposed for the cluster, around 22 hectare has been cleared from the forest department. Once the development starts, we will accommodate small players first,” said Bapna.

The SPV said the design for the cluster has to be modified to basic requirements due to cut down in the area.

The association secretary Harish Nagar said, “This cluster could have been a boon to the sector. But the delay has hit the investment plans and the sector adversely.”  (KNN Bureau)