Bagmati. Saroj Bidari of Hetauda was happy when the then Finance Minister Janardan Sharma announced in Parliament the plan to reopen the Hetauda textile industry, which had been closed for a long time. But he is sad that even after three years of the announcement, there is no preparation for the operation of the industry.
“Finance Minister Sharma announced that the closed Hetauda textile industry would be brought into operation from 2056 BS while presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2079/80,” Bidari said. “We were excited to hear that, but we are disappointed that it was limited to that announcement.”
According to Pramod Raj Ranabhat, President of the Makawanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, operating a dilapidated textile industry is a good thing, but it requires a lot of investment. It is challenging to compete with neighboring countries, and if the government operates it itself, it will also need new machines.
When the industry, spread over 166 ropanis in the Hetauda Industrial Area, was operating, it used to produce 2,300 tons of yarn and 11 million meters of cloth in three shifts annually.
The industry, which was established on 16th Shrawan 2032 with financial and technical assistance from the Chinese government, has been completely closed since 1st Falgun 2056 BS due to managerial weaknesses, difficulties in regular power supply, increasing production costs, recruitment of unnecessary manpower, and lack of technological modernization. The machines of the closed industry are rusting, and the Armed Police Force has set up an office in the industry building.
Ramesh Raj Nepal, Information Officer at the Hetauda Industrial Area Management Office, says that water is leaking from the roof of other buildings in the industry, the residential building, the false ceiling is not working, and even the walls of the building are cracked. According to him, the perimeter wall of the industry needs repair, while the electrification, plumbing and steam pipelines are dilapidated. Although the government has formed a task force several times to operate the dilapidated textile industry, the basis for operation has not yet been prepared.
In 2065 BS, when Baburam Bhattarai was the Finance Minister, it was decided to restart the industry for the production of uniforms for the Nepali Army and civil servants. Although the government allocated a budget for that, the industry could not be operated. Basu Khatiwada, the central vice-president of the Consumer Interest Protection Forum, said that even though the government formed after that allocated budget for the operation of the industry, the industry could not be revived.
Although the Nepalese Army has shown interest in operating the industry, the government has not made a decision. “I heard that the army had conducted a study on the operation of the industry in Ashar 2075 BS,” he said. “A task force was formed on the initiative of the then Minister of Industry and Supplies Matrika Yadav and a study was conducted on the modalities, legal and physical structure of the operation of the industry, but that too was lost.” Even though the governments have been talking about operating the industry repeatedly, no results have been achieved so far.”
In the last 2080 Magh, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ had also announced that preparations were underway to operate the closed Hetauda textile industry. After the government included a plan to operate the industry in the policy and program for the fiscal year 2080/81, the Nepali Army submitted a report to Prime Minister Dahal. After the change of government led by him, the plan to re-operate the industry has been limited to paper only. Vice President Khatiwada says that if the industry is operated, locals will get employment and it will also contribute to the country’s economy. RSS
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