The Hindu Business Line : Textile wet processing tech upgrade yet to get PCB nod

PROMOTERS of a few textile wet processing industries in the region, who have sought funding for scaling up their production technology under the `cleaner production scheme', are in a dilemma, thanks to the uncertainty in getting the mandatory clearance from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

At least eight major investment proposals received from the Tirupur region by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and found qualifying for funding under the Rs 90-crore overseas credit line from Germany's KFW operated by the former, hangs in balance.

The processing of these projects has got stuck for want of the PCB's nod, according to the knitwear industry sources.

The sources told Business Line that ERW India, the designated agency to conduct the technical and financial evaluation of these projects, as mandated by the SIDBI-KFW credit line, has already vetted the moderniation project proposals.

Out of these, the ERW is also believed to have completed the final auditing for two projects and cleared for funding by the SIDBI. Yet, the latter is unable to proceed further in the absence of the PCB clearance.

The SIDBI-KFW credit line, meant for funding of cleaner manufacturing process under the small and medium enterprises, is open to finance the production process upgradation by specific sectors of industry, namely the leather/tanning, textile wet processing, metal finishing and electroplating. Besides assisting the production process modernisation, these funding would also increase the efficiency in handling the effluent/wastes discharged by the individual units.

The textile wet processing units awaiting the project clearance under this route are believed to have proposed to go for the `softflow' dyeing machinery and also treat the effluents under the `reverse osmosis' technology. Each project is estimated to cost Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.5 crore. Since the textile wet-processing comes under the `highly polluting' category of industry, it is mandatory that any production process upgradation projects has to obtain the pollution control board's consent.

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