Haryana could be mega-cluster location, but with no tannery
25/04/2012
An initial announcement about mega-clusters, in which tanneries will be co-located with supply companies, leathergoods manufacturers and a state-of-the-art effluent treatment plant, came at the start of 2011. In February this year, the CLE president, Rafeeque Ahmed, said that it was up to companies in the leather industry to identify and purchase the sites for the cluster projects and that government support would come in the shape of infrastructure improvements, including better roads, access to water and energy and communications technology. He said he was optimistic that the mega-clusters would be up and running within five years.
CLE members have already identified two sites they want to use, one near Delhi and the other 30 kilometres from Chennai. The organisation says it has reached an agreement with the government to set up as many as seven of these sites around the country.
In mid-April, a CLE delegation led by Mr Ahmed held talks with the chief minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Reports say the leather industry has identified Mewat as a possible location for one of the clusters. Mewat, a mainly agricultural district, has developed a manufacturing zone called the Industrial Model Township, which CLE has identified as a possible location for one of the mega-clusters.
Companies reported to be interested in taking part in the Haryana project include P&G Enterprises, Century Overseas, Ranvik Exports and Discovery Leathers.
Local media said after the meeting that, according to CLE calculations, a leather mega-cluster at Mewat could generate as many as 50,000 jobs there. However, some reports said the proposal involved finished leathergoods only and included no plans for a tannery at Mewat.
Share this story:
