Industry representatives said here on Sunday that they were pained by the order of ban on the use of plastic carry bags in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. The move has caused hardship to nearly 200 small-scale units manufacturing plastic carry bags.
“We agree the plastic carry bags cause pollution. But the sudden ban (by the district administrations) is painful for the industries, especially the small-scale industries,” said Prasadraj Kanchan, President of Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said that the ban had affected their business.
At the valedictory of the two-day National Vendor Development Programme, Mr. Kanchan said entrepreneurs of the region were concerned given the sudden announcement of the ban on the use of plastic carry bags. “The authorities could have given notice to the units. Suddenly one day they announced a ban in Udupi and a few days later Mangalore City Corporation also made the announcement.” The State and the Central governments should provide an alternative scheme for the entrepreneurs who operate units that manufacture plastic bags. As many as 200 small-scale industries produced plastic carry bags in the two districts, he said.
Santosh D’Souza, the Joint Secretary-2 of the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association, said entrepreneurs had invested in machinery and other aspects for operating these units. “With the ban, will the repayments (for loan) stop? Will the Labour Department allow us to retrench employees working in the unit?”
Mr. D’Souza said the government should provide more time to repay the loans and provide the entrepreneur a one-time exit policy. The government could take over the assets of the companies and also reclaim the land allotted to such units. “This will allow entrepreneurs to think of a change-over and go ahead,” he said.
Director of Micro Small and Medium Industries’ Development Institute, Bangalore, S.M. Jamkahndi said that the Public Sector Units (PSUs) should help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by purchasing small products such as the spare parts manufactured by SMEs. The institute was collecting details of such small products from the PSUs.
“We try to find the SMEs that can supply these products.” If there were SMEs that had no access to technology, the institute would work with research institutes to develop the technology and would provide it to the SMEs that showed an inclination to manufacture the product, he said.
Joint Director of District Industries Centre, Dakshina Kannada, S.G. Hegde said 100 stalls had been put up at the two-day exhibition organised as a part of the Programme.
