INDUSTRIES

INTRODUCTIONS

THE STUDY OF THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE DISTRICT is not complete without the review of its industrial development. The present chapter analyses the historical and structural aspects of various industries in Sholapur district. It is a paradox that Sholapur which stands fourth in the State as regards the development of industries is a predominantly agricultural district from the point of view of employment. Agriculture provides a means of livelihood to about 70 per cent of the total district populace.

Sholapur is an important centre of cotton textile industry ever since the third quarter of the nineteenth century, and the district ranks fourth as regards industrialisation in the State. [For details of industrialisation and future prospects of industrial development refer to Chapter 9 in this volume.] At present there are eight cotton textile mills, and a number of factories manufacturing bed-covers. The jacquard chaddars (bed-covers) manufactured at Sholapur are very famous all over Maharashtra. Besides the modern textile mills, Sholapur is a congenial home of the handloom weaving industry which provides employment to a considerable number of workers. At present (1974-75) there are fourteen large-scale factories and 870 small-scale factories registered in the district.

Besides the cotton textile industry, the sugar industry has also found a congenial home in parts of the district. As a matter of fact the sugar industry occupies a very important position in the industrial landscape as also the general economy of the district. The sugar factories are concentrated in the areas of Akluj, Malshiras, Malinagar, Chitalenagar and Akkalkot. These areas which formerly suffered from the occurrence of frequent famines, are now reverberating with economic prosperity.

The details about the various industries are given in this chapter.

In the Fifth Five-Year Plan, it is proposed to spend an amount of Rs. 3421.80 lakhs on industrial development in the district. This plan allocation is proposed to be distributed as under:—(1) State Plan, Rs. 133.80 lakhs; (2) Central sector, Rs. 68 lakhs; (3) State level schemes, Rs. 105 lakhs; and (4) Institutional finance, Rs. 3115 lakhs.

The growth of modern industry in the district started as far back as in nineteenth century. However, Sholapur achieved the fame as a business centre before the nineteenth century. The extension of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway to Sholapur in 1860 and to Raichur in 1870 and the commencement of a textile mill in 1877 as also the completion of the work of a big reservoir known as Ekruk Tank in 1872 were the three important factors which had contributed to the industrial development in the district. In the subsequent 20 to 25 years a number of cotton mills were established in Sholapur and Barshi. It is noteworthy that all the industrialists who have established the factories in the district have come from outside.

In 1884 [Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Sholapur District, 1884, p. 91.] there were thirty classes of craftsmen with a total strength of 74,900 or 13.9 per cent of the total Hindu population.

The craftsmen and artisans in earlier times had an important place in the village economy when they exchanged their products on barter terms for food and raw materials necessary for their occupations. The self-sufficient economy of those days was disrupted by the substitution of specialised products in agriculture intended for export rather than for domestic exchange. The craftsmen and artisans met with keen competition from the large-scale machine-made products which they could not meet because of the inherent strength of organised industries. The decay and slow growth of cottage and village industries could be attributed generally to six handicaps which are inherent in them, viz., raw materials, technique of production, finance, marketing and other socio-economic factors.

The details of location and nature of the factories in the district in 1903, 1911 and 1921 [Supplementaries to Sholapur District Gazetteer.] as also the number of operatives employed in these factories in the respective years furnished in table No. 1 give an idea of the industrial growth in the district.

According to the Census of Manufacturing Industries in 1959, the industries covered under the Census of Manufacturing Industries Act in the district had a combined fixed capital of Rs. 397.4 lakhs and a working capital of Rs. 302.4 lakhs. The total value of annual production was Rs. 1361.70 lakhs, and the value added by manufacturing was Rs. 384 lakhs. The value added by manufacture In the district in 1959 was, however, only 1.90 per cent of the total for Maharashtra.

Table No. 2 shows the number of working factories and average daily employment in the year 1961.

The statistics of industrial production of some of the important commodities manufactured in the district are given on the next page.

The average number of workers in power-operated factories during 1963 was 26,028 while the number in factories not using power was 7,072 per day. The statistical details regarding the above are given in table No. 3.

The number of workers per large-scale factory was 675 in 1961 which decreased to 512 in 1963 and the number of workers per small-scale factory was 23 in 1961 which decreased to 21 in 1963. The number of workers per factory in power-operated sector was 135 which showed a decrease when compared to figures of 1956. This decreasing trend in 1963 may be attributed to the closure of some mills.

The number of workers employed in registered factories per lakh of population was 246 in 1956 and 1,496 in 1966. The following statement gives the taluka-wise information about number of workers employed in the registered factories per lakh of population in 1956 and 1966:—

The Annual Survey of Industries undertaken in 1966 recorded 256 registered factories in the district. They employed 22,230 persons, had a productive capital of Rs. 12,45,64,000, and the gross output was valued at Rs. 28,82,86,000. The industry-wise details are shown in table No. 4.

Table No. 5 shows the average number of employment in factories in Sholapur district during 1968 and 1971.

In respect of the distribution of working factories in the district according to working strength the following statement gives some statistics for a few years [Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Government of Maharashtra, Bombay]:—

Thus it can be seen from the above statement that the number of factories as also total employment was the highest in 1964 which declined in the subsequent years. Though the number of factories registered showed an increase in 1971 over that in 1968, the factory employment in 1971 showed a decline. However this increase and decrease in the factory employment does not reflect any important change in the structure of the industry in Sholapur district.

Table No. 6 shows the statistics of small-scale industries and non-scheduled large-scale industries permanently registered in the district at the end of 1970.

The tables given in appendix at the end of this chapter give factory statistics for the years 1911, 1931, 1951, 1961 and 1971.

The Master Plan prepared by the Industries Department in 1960 had indicated scope for establishment of the various new industries such as cotton waste yarn, processing and finishing plant for cloth, surgical cotton, solvent extraction of oil-seeds, sugar, cold storage plant, refrigeration van service for vegetables and fruits and industrial alcohol.

INDUSTRIAL ESTATES

Industrial estates: Industrial estate [Industrial Estates by William Bredo.] is one of the several institutional techniques developed and applied successfully to the basic problems of initiating and sustaining the development of small and medium scale industries by providing in a compact and developed area, water-supply, drainage, electric supply, transport facilities, etc., alongwith suitable space.

The economic benefits of industrial estates are: (i) economies of scale derived from the development of the estate, (ii) external economies accruing largely from the clustering of enterprises, (iii) provision of certain services which become feasible as a result of an aggregation of a sufficiently large number of firms and (iv) reduction of risk to the individual entrepreneur and the financing agencies due to the aggregation of firms.

The industrial estates at Sholapur and Barshi were initially proposed to be established on co-operative basis in the Third Five-Year Plan. Accordingly, the co-operative industrial estates are established at Sholapur and Barshi. The survey report regarding the establishment of an industrial estate at Akluj was prepared by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. The Corporation also proposes to have an industrial belt at Sholapur. An additional industrial estate for powerloom units is also proposed for which 1,100 acres of land is being acquired. The Corporation proposes to develop the land so as to facilitate the establishment of industrial units. In the Fifth Five-Year Plan provision of Rs. 5.50 lakhs has been made for the construction of water reservoir, development of land, construction of factory-sheds in the industrial estates. There is also a plan for establishing two more industrial estates, one at Pandharpur and the other at Akluj, both being prospective industrial belts. The detailed information about the two industrial estates in the district is given below:—

Industrial Estate, Sholapur: As per the new plan, 34 acres of land has been acquired by Government and handed over to the Industrial Estate Co-operative Society for development. The society has raised share-capital of Rs. 1,48,000 so far and the total amount of Government share received by the society is Rs. 1,55,000. The society has 284 members who are share-holders. The lay-out plan and the scheme has been approved by the Government. The total number of sheds constructed so far is 53, out of which 48 have been allotted for production purposes and five for other purposes. In all 37 units have gone into operation. At present seven types of industries are operating in the industrial estate. The details regarding value of output and employment in these industries are given below:—

One Common Facility Centre has been established in the Industrial Estate. Construction of the Common Facility Centre building and installation of machines have been completed. An outlay of Rs. 20,000 has been planned during the year 1969-70. Electric power for the Common Facility Centre is yet to be received.

A number of industrialists and entrepreneurs are attracted to locate their factories in the Industrial Estate due to various facilities available therein.

The first phase of the Industrial Estate has been completed. As the matching contribution from Government has been received the second phase will be undertaken by the Society in the near future.

Industrial Estate, Barshi: An area of seventeen acres and eight gunthas of Government land has been acquired by the Barshi Industrial Society for development. The share-capital of the society amounts to Rs. 36,700 while it obtained a matching contribution of Rs. 36,700 from the Government of Maharashtra. The lay-out plan and scheme of the Industrial Estate has been approved by the Government and construction of one shed has been completed. A cement processing unit has started production, the value of output of the unit being Rs. 42,000. Two more sheds are under construction.

The Chapter is divided into three sections. The first section deals with large and small scale industries; the second section deals with cottage and village industries; while the third section gives an account of the trade union movement and labour organisations in the district.

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