Kolkata, Mar 20 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress announced a “Natural Fibers Revival Mission” in its poll manifesto unveiled on Friday, pledging to revive closed and sick jute mills in the state and boost global marketability of jute products.
The initiative is aimed at restoring livelihoods for thousands of workers of struggling jute units in the state, which the party described as a national pioneer in jute production.
Under the plan, the TMC has also proposed diversifying the mission’s scope to include the revival and promotion of other natural fibres and textiles.
Welcoming the poll promise, Sanjay Kajaria, the former chairman of the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA), said that revival of the natural fiber industry was the need of the hour, but stressed that quality improvement was equally critical.
“If (jute) farmers are rejuvenated, mills will get revived,” he said, underlining that any meaningful turnaround in the sector must begin at the cultivation level.
On the export front, the TMC manifesto proposes setting up four zonal MSME Export Hubs at Howrah, Durgapur, Berhampore and Siliguri, with a special focus on textiles and apparel exports.
The party said the hubs, combined with efforts to make jute products more competitive in domestic and international markets, would be a part of a broader target to double the state’s total annual exports to Rs 1.54 lakh crore by 2030-31. PTI BSM NSD
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