The State Government recently allocated Rs. 2.1 crore to Coimbatore district for disbursement of subsidy to micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) that purchased generators under a scheme for the same. However, the amount is not adequate as there are still a large number of units that are waiting for the subsidy, say industry sources.
An official of the District Industries Centre (DIC) told The Hindu on Thursday that since 2009-10, when the scheme was launched, 1,309 units in Coimbatore district had received Rs. 14.26 crore as subsidy. Under the scheme, the units got 25 per cent of the generator cost as one-time subsidy.
The official said that the Rs. 2.1 crore received now had been disbursed to 189 applicants. There were 628 more applications pending for subsidy and Rs. 7.63 crore was required for the same.
J. James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises (TACT), said that several units invested in generators two years ago as power cuts were high in the State and the Government had announced subsidy for purchase of generators.
Some of the units had taken bank loan or borrowed from private lenders and they had now paid interest that amounts to almost the subsidy amount they would get.
If the units had received the subsidy on time, they would have been able to repay the loans. He appealed to the State Government to release the pending subsidy amount immediately, he said.