After the Union Government allocated seven mega textile parks to other states, local businessmen associated with the textile industry in Amritsar have demanded that the Punjab government should renew efforts to get a textile park allocated in the district.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the setting up of seven PM MITRA (Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) textile parks for states. The textile parks had been allocated to Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Also Read: PM announces states for PM MITRA parks, here is the list
Union Commerce and Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal had announced two months ago that citing unavailability of land, the Punjab government had withdrawn its application for a textile park.
Also Read: Punjab Government withdraws application for Centre’s mega textile park scheme
Punjab accounted for 23 per cent of national cotton production which would be processed locally, said Deepak Khanna, President of the Textile Manufacturers Association (TMA). He also added that if the state had been allotted a PM MITRA mega textile park, indigenous industries would have been boosted in line with the PM’s 5F (Farm to fibre to factory to fashion to foreign) vision.
Geographically, Amritsar is situated close to Himachal Pradesh where sheep wool is procured. The city has the Punjab Institute of Textile Technology to provide trained candidates in all streams of textiles. The local industrialists have said that investment by the government will make the region a hub of textile activity and provide valuable products for export.
