Gujarat co-op body seeks more time for garment zone

The Gujarat Garment Co-operative Industrial Estate (GGCIEL) has requested the Gujarat government to extend the time period of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between them for the development of a garment zone at Kudasan village.

According to GGCIEL officials, the Government of Gujarat had signed the MoU with them in January 2005 but have now sent them a show cause notice for taking back the land.

Garment manufacturers, who set up units in the garment zone, claim to have spent Rs 3 crore from their pockets for infrastructure development as the area reportedly faced a power shortage and had no proper roads or transport facilities.

"The notice from the Gandhinagar collector has come about at a time when power has been restored and around 50-60 garment manufacturers have already started putting up their units in the garment zone," said Sunil Gandhi, president, Garment Manufacturers Association.

The Kudasan garment zone was one of the highlights of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit in 2005 and was supposed to commence operations by November this year.

"The garment zone has a capacity of housing 92 units and with the right infrastructure in place, we expect even more manufacturers to put up their units in it," said Gandhi. The zone is also expected to provide employment to 10,000 labourers most of whom have been trained by ITI and NIFT.

The garment zone would have a turnover of Rs 100 crore following its commencement, he added.