Infra improvements vital for industrial growth in Telangana
Industry leader Shobha Dixit recommends prioritising basic infra like roads, transportation, and community centers with medical facilities when developing new or existing industrial parks
image for illustrative purpose
Large-sized industries are able to provide permanent workers with transport facility, but it does not include for the one on temporary contract. In general, roads, transport and last mile connectivity for the employees within the park will be helpful as right now it is in a bleak condition - Shobha Dixit, Alpla Director
When a new industrial park is coming up or at the existent one’s too basic infrastructure including roads, transport, last mile connectivity, community centre with medical facilities has to be designed first, recommends Alpla Director and former Chairperson, Indian Women Network of Confederation of Indian Industry Shobha Dixit.
According to her, MSMEs do not have the capacity to operate their own buses, she informed that, “Large-sized industries are able to provide permanent workers with transport facility, but it does not include for the one on temporary contract. In general, roads, transport and last mile connectivity for the employees within the park will be helpful as right now it is in a bleak condition.” Her suggestion to the government is to think on lines of building infrastructure which will contribute towards increasing female participation in the workforce. She adds, “Let the government start by providing facilities and infrastructure. Other facilities that need to be developed are a community centre, medical facility, day-care for children of these employees post school hours, Anganwadi, and schools to provide education for women.”
The Indian Women Network of CII had undertaken an extensive meeting with the industries at Pashamylaram. These recommendations are the outcome of that discussion they had. Dixit informed that another woe put forward by them is hospitals or medical facility centres. She highlights that basic healthcare for emergencies along with an ambulance should be made available. While big-sized industries with over 800 employees have to follow the rule of putting these in place, MSMEs lack the bandwidth for setting up such facilities.
Dixit points out that these industrial estates have been functional for long, and neither of the ruling governments worked towards betterment of facilities, and infrastructure. As yet industries operating at Pashamylaram Industrial Park do not have the access to basic resources such as water too. She says that the government has provided direct water supply only for bigger sized industries and not for the rest. The small and micro enterprises have to put up a borewell and RO plant for access to water.
Drawing attention of the government towards inadequacies in TSIIC, Dixit told Bizz Buzz that faster approval for processes and transparency of fee structure on TSIIC website is lacking. She went on to say, “When a large company like ours had to apply thrice before we could get the permission then imagine the state of other MSMEs.”
