CHENNAI: A lot has been spoken about employment and infrastructure development in the State over the past two to three months, thanks to the hectic election campaigns by political parties. But, what good has it done to the southern districts? Why is it that these districts fall out on the major investments that come to the State? The southern districts have been waiting for huge investments to trickle down for the past 15 years as youth there have no other option but to migrate to Chennai or Coimbatore for jobs.
Industrialists say although there has been enough talk about generating investments, the distribution of wealth remains uneven. “The investments lie concentrated in Chennai, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu, with hardly any major ones coming to the south,” says Hari K Thigarajan, former chairman of CII Tamil Nadu State Council. “It does require a bigger boost for industries to come to south,” he says, adding that there is a requirement for a high-level committee, headed by the Industries Minister, along with industrialists and bureaucrats, to woo investors.
Thiagarajan opines that Tamil Nadu should go the ‘GIFT city way’ down south. Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) is an under-construction business district near Gandhinagar in Gujarat. It is India’s first operational greenfield smart city and international financial services centre. Ligi George, MD of Madras Suspensions and a former chairman of the CII (Madurai zone), says there has been a lot of push to get industries to be shifted to south, in Madurai or Thoothkudi, since 2006.
Although the State has unveiled a new Industrial Policy to woo investors to southern and backward districts by offering sops, sources say it is not enough. “There has not been much interest shown by industries to invest here,” says an official on condition of anonymity. Interestingly, both the AIADMK and DMK have been trying to promote investments down south. However, the only major investment has been Sterlite, which earned the wrath of people over pollution charges. “The industry rather than being shut should have been regulated so that the breadwinners don’t lose jobs,” says Thaigarajan.
The sentiment was also echoed by George. The latter feels there is a need for industrial clusters as well. “We can focus on solar cell clusters or electronic clusters,” he says, adding that there needs to be a boost in night life, too. “Sailors prefer Colombo to Thoothukudi as they want to spend money on going out and visiting the city for leisure. Tourism should be promoted,” says George. Thiagarajan also emphasises on the need to promote entrepreneurship so that there is no brain-drain. He suggests creation of a social infrastructure. “We require better healthcare facilities as well as international schools,” he says, adding that Thoothukudi could be developed into a transhipment port. “All our exports are routed to Colombo.
Why should Colombo thrive when we can develop our ports?” he asks. R Edwin Samuel, founder and CEO of Pearl Shipping Agencies and vice-chairman of Indian Chamber of Commerce also agrees with the view. “Chennai-Kanniyakumari Industrial Corridor should also be speeded up,” he says, adding that the government’s focus should be on generating jobs and wooing investment from green industries. “The State could get in wind turbine manufacturers to set up shop in Thoothukudi or neighbouring districts because of the high logistics cost. The government should also get SaaS industries or data centres to set up their centres in south. The land is cheap here when compared to other parts in Tamil Nadu,” says Samuel.