The scarcity of space on industrial estates has once again triggered a call from entrepreneurs in the district to the government to speed up decision on allowing private industrial estates in the State.
“All industrial estates are filled to capacity and there is little or no space left in any of them,” said Sojan Joseph, an entrepreneur in the Edayar industrial area, heart of the industrial belt in the district. He said that there were around 300 units operating on about 400 acres and there had been constant demand for more space for new units.
The Kerala State Small Industries Association (KSSIA) too has appealed to the government to speed up decision on allowing private industrial estates. The decision has been pending since 2017 when the government had begun considering the proposal for allowing individuals to develop infrastructure for enterprises to start operations.
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“Small and medium enterprises are always on the lookout for space for launching their operations and Kerala must imitate States like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana in getting industrial space ready,” said M. Khalid, president of KSSIA, in a submission to the Finance Minister ahead of the State Budget which would be presented on Friday. He was of the view that if entrepreneurs were offered space with basic facilities like water, electricity and road connectivity, there would be no scarcity of new enterprises.
Industries Department sources said that a government order in this connection was likely to be issued soon and that a decision was pending as there was some confusion over the minimum land extent that could be developed into industrial estates.
P.K. Somanathan in Angamaly industrial area, one of the first industrial estates in the State, said that there were 115 units operating out of the estate spread over 238 acres. Space had been a major constraint for further development. The industrial units’ association had also submitted a plea to the department to assist in developing facilities like a common effluent treatment plant as well as road in the industrial area, he said.
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The Aluva industrial area too has been suffering from shrinking space. There had been a long-pending demand from the industries association for allocation of land for a building to house workers, said C.P. Subairudeen. There were seventy industrial units operating out of 68 acres in the area, he said. Decades-old demands such as common facilities and expansion of the industrial area had not been met so far, he added.