The Odisha Industries’ Federation (OIF) has demanded a tax holiday for small and medium industries in Ganjam district for at least a year and also sought Rs 2,000 crore grant-in-aid to rebuild the infrastructure damaged by cyclone Phailin and subsequent floods.
The federation has also urged the Government for a one-year moratorium on all statutory repayments to banks and other financial institutions.
The total loss to the sector in Ganjam district is not less than Rs 1,500 crore. The sector can be revived only with an immediate intervention of the State and Central Governments, said OIF’s South Zone vice-chairman Rajendra Kumar Mishra in Brahmapur.
The OIF also submitted a memorandum in this regard to Joint Director of Industries SK Sarangi during his recent visit to the district to assess the damages to the MSME sector.
Around 1,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including rice mills, cashew processing units, kewda distillation plants, crusher units, granite processing units, hotels and salt units, were severely affected in the calamities, he said. Several other enterprises engaged in electrical manufacturing, plastic and polymer, fabrication and engineering and wood-based units also sustained huge losses, he added.
General Manager, District Industry Centre, Badri Patro, said there are 2,009 registered units in the district. The exact number of units damaged in the calamities could only be known after the assessments of individual units are completed, he said. “We have asked the Industrial Promotion Officers (IPOs) to enumerate the number of damaged units and submit a report by November 15,” he added.
Representatives of several associations have also submitted separate memoranda to the Joint Director of Industries urging him to waive power supply charges and give them a special grant for reconstruction of the damaged units.