KSTIDCL Appointed As Technical Agency To Set Up Mega Silk Cluster Project in Karnataka

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KSTIDCL Appointed As Technical Agency To Set Up Mega Silk Cluster Project in Karnataka

The union government has appointed the Karnataka State Textile Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (KSTIDCL) as cluster management and technical agency in order to set up a mega silk cluster on ten acres of land at Belavadi village of Karnataka.

It has been proposed to name the project as the Mysore Sri Chamundeshwari mega silk cluster, according to industry sources. The cluster, which will be set up at an approximate cost of Rs 50 crore, is one of the six such silk clusters scheduled to be set up across the country under the revised National Handloom Development Programme.

KSTIDCL Chairman G Thippesh said that efforts are also on to register a special purpose vehicle for the implementation and funding of the silk cluster, so that it could be set up in eight months.

He said that that twisting, yarn dyeing, warping, fabric dying and printing, and calendaring were among many functions that would be provided at the proposed cluster. Some 25 silk traders have been identified and each one of them has agreed to invest around Rs 40 lakh in the cluster, he said.

The cluster would be set up under a public-private partnership. The union government would bear 60% of the total cost while the Karnataka state government would bear 30%, while the remaining 10% would be borne by entrepreneurs, he said.

The cluster would enable weavers to produce quality silk saris on a large scale, he said. Meanwile, it is learnt that a detailed project report for the cluster is being prepared with the help of Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka Limited (IDECK). Roads, drainage systems, water, power and solid waste management systems, a training halland a bank would be set up, he said.

The proposed silk cluster is a labour intensive project, which would open up huge employment opportunities besides fuelling the local economy as well as ancillary industries, he said. Incidentally, Mysuru and its surrounding regions are known for sericulture, and Mysore Silk has been accorded the Geographic Indication tag for its uniqueness.