Delayed payments: State approaches Centre for setting up dist MSME felicitation councils under DMs

Kolkata: To address the issue of delayed payments to MSME units, MSME & Textiles department is learnt to have approached the Ministry of MSME discussing the scope of setting up MSME Felicitation Councils at the district level under the respective district magistrates (DMs).

The state government presently has three such councils located at Kolkata, Durgapur and Siliguri.

“The biggest problem for the MSMEs is the issue of delayed payments. We are discussing with the Centre so that we can have MSME councils at the district level under the respective District Magistrates (DMs) to address the issue effectively,” Rajesh Pandey, Principal Secretary of MSME & Textiles department said while addressing the 10th MSME Conclave organised by the CII Eastern Region on Thursday. Pandey also encouraged CII to educate its members so that payments are made on time.

As per the central Act, the felicitation councils function under the chairmanship of the MSME director.

However, the state feels that for setting up such councils in the districts, the DMs should be made chairman of the respective district councils.

Pandey said he expects that this year the state alone will be able to produce 5 crore metres of fabric which is needed for the school uniforms in the state.

The ‘Powerloom Incentive Policy’ launched at the end of December 2021 to become self-dependent in garment production, particularly school uniforms for children, has provided a major thrust for the growth of new age shuttleless power looms across the state.

In the first year, the state produced 40 lakh metres of fabric for school uniforms and last year it was 1.5 crore metres. The state has plans to produce uniforms for police, firemen, and correctional home inmates through cloth production in Bengal in the days to come.

Pandey said that the state has identified 40 land parcels, each measuring 5 acres, which will be soon advertised for private developers to set up industrial parks.

“These lands can be provided on a freehold basis with the state already allowing conversion of leasehold land to freehold, as per state government conditions,” Pandey added.