Small industries seek better power infra

The Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) has urged the Centre to take immediate measures for improving the power infrastructure in Tamil Nadu.

In a resolution adopted at its annual general meeting (AGM), association's newly elected president K Balachandran said apart from the high cost of power in Tamil Nadu, poor quality of power was a major problem.

Industries, that had captive power generation capacity to meet the shortage in power supply, were levied a tax, he added.

The association has demanded the abolition of this levy, and has sought an increase in the low tension limit from 150 HP (horse power) to 250 HP.

The association has also urged the government not to make the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) clearance mandatory for small scale industries (SSIs).

It also wanted foundries and smaller engineering industries with investment less than Rs 50 crore to be exempted from EIA, according to a press release.

Codissia said that foundries should be removed from the list of 'Red Category' industries as that they did not discharge liquids that could be of any threat to water bodies.

These units had also complied with the pollution control norms prescribed by the Pollution Control Board, it said.

The association also sought immediate implementation of value added tax (VAT) in the state.