TN industry worried over row of protests

Government dismisses fears saying investment still solid

With just six months away for the second edition of Global Investor’s meet (GIM) scheduled in January 2019, the clock is ticking for Tamil Nadu.

The southern state is the country’s second most industrialised state as well as its second richest according to Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), but a wave of protests against industry gain momentum in the state.

First, it was the long standing protests in Thoothukudi against a copper smelter plant belonging to Sterlite Industries which ended when the police allegedly opened fir during ongoing protests, leading to the loss of 13 lives.

Now, the agitation against the Salem - Chennai Green Corridor is picking up pace.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami recently admitted in the assembly that Tamil Nadu had witnessed the maximum number of protests in the country, which is unusual for a state considered to be industryfriendly.

Whether it is the IT cluster in and around Chennai or the automobile companies around Sripermbedur, the textile exporters in Tiruppur, the electrical industry in Coimbatore or the leather export cluster in Ambur, the state has carved a niche for itself on the country’s industrial landscape.

According to the Confederation of Indian Industries, Tamil Nadu, with its contribution of over 20% to auto exports, 28% to the renewable energy capacity in the country, has been a front-runner in attracting investments over the past three decades.

“The protests are mainly due to the weak political stability in the state. At present, the medium and small scale industries are under severe stress.

“Thousands of small industries have closed down due to multiple factors ranging from GST, demonetisation and issues pertaining to Tamil Nadu including the agitations and unrest,” said KE Raghunathan, national president of the All India Manufacturers Association.

Over the last four years, TN has not added any major company to its industrial clusters in Gummidipoondi, Hosur, Coimbatore, Vellore and Sriperumbudur, but there are reports of several large companies shifting their additional new investments away from Tamil Nadu, he noted.

However, office bearers of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Chennai are hopeful that the state will bounce back.

“The launch of a single window portal under the Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation Act would attract large number of companies to invest and expand their operations in the state. The proactive

steps taken by the industries department have raised the confidence of investors in the state,” opined M Ponnuswami, chairman, CII TN state council.

The proposed eight-lane corridor project under the Bharatmala Pariyojana initiative would be a game changer in enhancing the economic growth of central districts of Tamil Nadu, said Ponnuswami.

When asked about the recent protests and unrest, senior minister D Jayakumar said the police had to enforce the law of the land.

Tamil Nadu industries secretary K Gnanadesikan said all is well with the industry sentiment in the state. Denying that the state has attracted less investment in the recent years, he said, “We are holdings talks with Foxconn and are on the process of reviving the Nokia plant which has been shut down in Sriperumbudur and more industry friendly talks are underway.”

THE PROTESTS ARE MAINLY DUE TO THE WEAK POLITICAL STABILITY IN THE STATE. AT PRESENT, THE MEDIUM AND SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES ARE UNDER SEVERE STRESS