OTHER DEPARTMENTS

DIRECTORATE OF INDUSTRIES

Organisation : The work of the Directorate of Industries of the Maharashtra State in Akola district is mainly confined to the development and progress of cottage, small scale and large scale industries. The Department of Industries was reorganised and the Directorate of Industries was formed in August 1960. The control of cottage industries was transferred to the Directorate of Industries with effect from December 1, 1960.

Structure: The head of the organisation of the Directorate of industries, is the Industries Commissioner, Bombay. The Akola district, which falls in the Vidarbha region of the State, is under the control of the Deputy Director of Industries whose office is at Nagpur. In addition to the Akola district, he is also responsible for development and progress of cottage, small scale and large scale industries in Amravati, Buldhana, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Wardha, Nagpur, and Yeotmal districts. He is also the Deputy Controller of Weights and Measures and exercises direct control over district level administration of the Bombay Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1958.

The regional organisation follows the pattern of Revenue division. Every district has an Industries Officer. The District Industries Officer, is under the executive control of the Collector of the district who is also an ex-officio Deputy Industries Commissioner. The Collector and the Deputy Industries Commissioner, is directly responsible to the Industries Commissioner, except the administration of weights and measures enforcement. The Regional Deputy Director of Industries is the co-ordinating agency at district level and functions as technical adviser to the Deputy Industries Commissioner.

The Akola district is split up into the following 3 divisions for the purposes of enforcement of Weights and Measures Act, 1958.

(1) Akola division comprising Akola city and Murtizapur tahsil.

(2) Balapur division comprising Akola and Akola tahsils, and

(3) Washim division comprising Washim, Mangrulpir and Balapur tahsils.

The Industries Officer, Akola, is assisted by one Senior Industries Inspector, 2 Junior Industries Inspectors and other necessary stall. The Senior Industries Inspector is in charge of Akola Division, whereas the Balapur and Washim Divisions are in charge of Junior Industries Inspectors. Every Divisional Inspector is assisted by one Manual Assistant and at the headquarters, the Industries Officer is assisted by one Senior Industries Inspector. The regular duties of Industries Inspector are inspections; surprise visits to weekly bazars, regulated market yards and big trading centres; investigation of applications received from various kinds of agencies; collection of revenue and enforcement of Bombay Weights and Measures, (Enforcement) Act, 1958. In addition, the Industries Inspector is required to render guidance to new entrepreneurs for selection of suitable industries and for various types of assistance rendered by Government and other agencies in regard to land, power, machinery, finance, technique and equipment.

(A) In the sphere of promotion of large scale industries the functions of the Directorate are restricted to processing of applications for industrial licences and offering suitable recommendations to the Government of India, under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951; developing areas with facilities of power, water, transport, etc., for location of large scale industries, providing facilities for industrial research by giving grants and export promotion.

(B) In the development of small scale industries the Directorate plays a major role by assisting entrepreneurs in the following respects, (i) securing land, water, power; (ii) organisation of co-operative industrial estates; (iii) giving financial aid; (iv) assistance for importing of machinery, spares and raw material; (v) assistance for machinery on hire purchase basis; (vi) assistance for indigenous raw materials, (vii) marketing of products through the Central Stores Purchase Organisation for buying requirements of State Government, (viii) quality marking of products of small scale industries; (ix) export promotion; (x) providing research facilities through Industrial Research Laboratories and research grants; (xi) imparting training to craftsmen; (xii) organisation of resource based small and cottage industries through Government sponsored industrial co-operatives to stimulate industrialisation in industrially underdeveloped areas, etc.

(C) The development of cottage, village and handicraft is the responsibility of the Zilla Parishad. However, the Directorate gives technical guidance to the institutions under the Zilla Parishad.

Activities: The office of the Industries Officer. Akola. is engaged in the following developmental activities.

(A) Assisting small scale units or registration of their units as small scale industrial units in order to get the facilities offered to small scale units by the Government. So far 268 units have been registered as small scale industrial units in this district.

(B) Assisting new units for approval of their new schemes and processing applications for provisional registration of small scale industrial units which are in effective possession of land, building and machinery.

(C) Assisting in obtaining machinery through the National Small Industries Corporation and the Maharashtra State Small Industries Development Corporation. The following statement shows the latest position of the district in this regard.

(D) Assisting in getting power and power connections. So far 8 units have taken the advantage of this facility in this district.

(E) Granting subsidy on power consumption:-30 units have been registered under this scheme. 20 units are, however, taking the advantage of the scheme.

(F) Offering incentives to small scale industries units in underdeveloped or industrially backward areas:- Four cases have been recommended to the Directorate of Industries for registration under the scheme.

(G) Extending marketing and export facilities to the products:- 5 units have been registered under the Central Stores Purchase Organisation and Director General of Supplies and Disposals in this district.

(H) Supplying of raw materials.—Applications are processed from small scale industries units for imported and indigenous raw materials. A number of registered factories gel regular quota from the Maharashtra State Small Industries Development Corporation of scarce raw material i. e. iron and steel under the scheme.

(i) Extending assistance in securing land for industrial purposes:— The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has developed one industrial area which is located at Sivni. 5 miles away from Akola, wherein 6 sheds have been made available for small scale industries units and 18 plots have been developed and allotted to new entrepreneurs. One unit manufacturing biscuits and confectionery has started its production.

(J) Imparting training facilities through training-cum Production centres: In the district there are two training centres which are run by the Zilla Parishad of which one is located at Karanja which is a leather training centre and the second at Balapur which is a cotton weaving centre.

(K) Providing financial assistance to small scale industries units.

TOP