Textile Minister and BJP leader Chandrakant Patil also holds Higher and Technical Education and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios in the Eknath Shinde-led coalition government.
On Tuesday, Maharashtra Textile Minister Chandrakant Patil gave in-principle approval to 0.75 paise per unit extra concession in the electricity bills for power loom units of up to 27 horsepower capacity. Patil who also holds the portfolios of Higher and Technical Education, and Parliamentary Affairs, said the state government will back power loom owners who can afford to install solar plants at their units.
“Those who cannot afford to install these solar plants will continue to get the government subsidy in the electricity tariff,” Patil clarified. On Tuesday, the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit president held a meeting at the state secretariat with all the stakeholders having their businesses in the textile sector. He heard their grievances over the recently unveiled Integrated and Sustainable Textile Policy (ISTP) 2023-28.
The new textile policy which was promulgated on June 2 this year broadly covers cooperative spinning mills, power looms, and other related industries in the textile sector. Soon after the policy was made public, confusion emerged among the players in the textile sector especially those associated with the power looms and allied industries.
“The new five-year textile policy 2023-28 unveiled by the state government is not final in nature. There is a big scope for improvement in it and the government was considering bringing out a revised GR after factoring in certain demands made by players in the textile sector,” Patil said.
He added that he will take a final decision on these demands within a week after holding a meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Apart from 0.75 paise extra concession, Patil also gave in-principle nod to waiver of (पोकळ) interest charged on the electricity bills for power looms.
The textile department under Patil is working on a joint proposal incorporating certain demands from the players in the cooperative spinning mills, power looms and similar industries in the textile sector. The Minister will then place this joint proposal before the CM and the Dy CM for discussion and final approval.
