Vidarbha has potential for 72 co-op spinning mills: Report

Staff Reporter
A committee appointed to look into measures required for removal of backlog of Vidarbha region in co-operatives sector, submitted its report with recommendations to Chandrakant Patil, Co-operation Minister, on Monday. After watching a presentation on three-volume report, Patil said that it would help in removal of Vidarbha’s backlog in co-operatives sector.
The Government had appointed a committee under Richa Bagla, Director (Textiles). Bagla submitted the report to Patil in a meeting held at Ravi Bhavan here. In its report, the committee has stated that there is potential for 72 co-operative spinning mills in Vidarbha, and has made several recommendations for growth of textile sector in the region. Some of the major recommendations are as follows: setting up Price Stabilisation Fund, interest-free loan to beleaguered District Central Co-operative Banks, increasing interest refund by three per cent, setting up soyabean and orange processing industries, starting Export Facilitation Centre etc. The committee has recommended delegation of powers of Commissioner (Co-operatives) and Registrar of Co-operative Societies to Additional Commissioner and Registrar of Co-operative Societies in case of Vidarbha only, and establishing the office in Nagpur. The Volume-II of the report points out that Vidarbha has potential for setting up 72 co-operative spinning mills, for which it has recommended approval to lumpsum amount of Government share capital. Also, it has suggested to continue with the Textile Policy-2012. 

Chandrakant Patil, Co-operation Minister, watching presentation on major recommendations of committee appointed to look into backlog of Vidarbha.

Various other measures include investing Government funds into District Central Co-operative Banks having adequate capital, audit, running capital for mortgage of goods, uniform rate of interest for same crop in all districts, expanding scope of Sahakar Sanjeevani and interest subvention schemes, constructing commercial blocks and godowns on open spaces with co-operative societies, appointing Government officials in cold storage and processing projects, modernisation of machinery of co-operative rice mills, selling organic farm produces through linkages with major companies, increasing management grants for dairy and fishery industries, fishing rights to co-operative societies, introducing co-operation as a subject in school curriculum etc.
Sunil Porwal, Additional Chief Secretary (Textiles); Prabhakar Deshmukh, Secretary (Co-operatives); Vipin Sharma, Commissioner (Sugar); Chandrakant Dalvi, Commissioner (Co-operatives); Kishor Toshniwal, Director (Marketing); Santosh Patil, S B Patil, Principal (Retd) Jagadish Killol, Yaglewad, Pravin Wankhede and other officials were present prominently in the meeting. 

(07-12-15)