The Tamil Nadu government’s move to relax norms regarding the functioning of industries from May 4 has brought a sigh of relief to entrepreneurs. However, tiny and small-scale entrepreneurs in Madurai say that the process of obtaining passes for their employees is among their biggest problems yet.
From 11 a.m. onwards, the portal- http://www.tnepass.tngea/- displayed an error message stating ‘the site cannot be reached’.
Convenor of Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association K. R. Gnanansambandham said the servers were slow. “Without proper systems in place, how can we even attempt getting passes?” he asked.
Many labourers from his company who attempted to obtain passes were unsuccessful. “I'm not sure my workforce is capable of applying for a pass by themselves as many are not skilled technologically. When some members of my organisation tried to apply for a pass, they failed to get it. There was also no clear reason for the rejection,” he said.
Most importantly, he said that only five or six industries have been listed in the drop down portion of the menu on the portal disallowing people who sell spare parts, oil, grease, paint and other commodities which have been classified as ‘non-essential’ to continue with their work.
Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association president S. Anburajan said that since the Madurai district administration had strictly disallowed the entry of people into the Collector’s office seeking passes, many people were clueless about how to begin working on May 4. He added that when labourers went to e-Seva centres to apply, the slow servers caused very lengthy wait times.
The relaxation permits the District Collector to decide on whether e-passes will be given to plumbers, electricians, AC mechanics, homecare providers and maids.
T. Dhirivayam, a plumber-cum-electrician who resides in Anna Nagar, said that without any income for the last one- and-a-half months, he has had to survive on meagre savings. “I've eaten into the amount saved for my daughter’s wedding,” he said. With the relaxation being his only shot at earning a living after a 40-day interval, bureaucratic delays regarding the reception of passes, continued to be a major hindrance, he said.
District Collector T. G. Vinay said there had been a tremendous inflow of requests since the time the e-portal opened on Sunday morning. “The District Industries Centre head said that they are yet to reject applications and they still have 250 pending requests,” he said. He added that they had been flooded with requests from people who already had government’s permission to function without a pass including employees from medical shops and staff working at restaurants that permit take away. “This is the problem. We are working on clearing out applications and permitting those who are genuine,” he said.
