Aligarh locks at breaking point

Manufacturers to go on strike to protest against 16% excise

The lock industry of Aliagrh accounts for almost 75 per cent of the production in the country, earning this city the name of "Tala Nagri" and making the "Aligarh lock" a distinct brand.

Earning more than Rs 210 crore each year from export of locks and other brass hardware, the lock industry forms the economic foundation of this city through the operation of over 6,000 cottage- and mid-scale lock units in Aligarh.

But lately, with the entry of cheap locks manufactured in east Asian countries like China, Taiwan and Korea and more than a two-fold increase in metal prices, the industry has been facing a slump in business.

However, the biggest blow has been dealt by the Central excise department which has begun serving notices of excise recovery from the lock units, demanding 16 per cent excise duty on the production in these units while denying any excise rebate to the small units which is normally offered by it to larger units.

Angered by this move, the lock and related hardware manufacturers of Aligarh have decided to symbolically shut down production in the Aligarh lock units for a day, that will mark the beginning of demonstrations against the central government's decision to impose excise duty on the small scale lock units of the town.

According to Ramesh Chandra Vinayak, President, Aligarh Hardware and Lock Traders Association, Aligarh was well known for manufacturing different types of locks used in doors, automobiles, suitcases, wooden & steel furniture etc. with most of the production being done by small scale units that constituted the bulk of exported hardware from this town.

He said for the past couple of years, the lock industry of Aligarh was going through a bad patch due to the rise in metal prices and with cheap and flashy looking imported locks becoming easily available in the market. He said there was little hope that the Aligarh locks could survive in the competitive market, where the imported locks had the low-price advantage because of imprudent taxation policies of the government.

He said the 16 per cent excise being demanded was not justified.

According to him, the Aligarh lock manufacturers had recently met the Union Commerce Minister Jairam Ramesh and requested for a rebate in excise duty, citing the tough conditions the industry was going through.

However, the minister didnot commit on either reducing or lifting the tax. Vinayak said the lock manufacturers were left with the only option of democratically opposing the unjust taxation through demonstrations and symbolic market closures in the entire district of Aligarh, which would begin from the first week of May and continue till the excise duty was lifted completely.

The lock manufacturers of Aligarh have also been demanding for the development of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for them in the town but despite the project being theoretically approved by the Union commerce ministry, it has hardly made any headway. The ministry of commerce has blamed the Uttar Pradesh government for delaying the land marking and acquisition process.