Representatives of the Calcutta Leather Complex Tanners’ Association (CLCTA) have urged West Bengal Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ashok Dinda to resolve infrastructure issues and remove alleged illegal encroachments inside the Kolkata Leather Complex (KLC) at Bantala.
The association said these problems have slowed infrastructure development and hurt the competitiveness of the state’s leather industry, according to The Times of India
The demand was raised during the first business meeting organised by the MSME Department to review issues related to the leather hub.
The association asked the minister to intervene on issues related to water supply, roads, the common effluent treatment plant and drainage. It also requested government support to set up a hospital and a fire station inside the complex, for which land had already been earmarked when the project was originally planned.
Association members said poor infrastructure and recurring problems with water supply, roads, the common effluent treatment plant and solid waste drainage have affected business over the past 2 years.
The minister assured the tanners that the government would extend full cooperation.
“The industry has suffered because of persistent problems relating to water supply, roads, the treatment plant and drainage. These challenges have impacted our international business and buyer relationships. We also lost the Leather Working Group certification, which greatly strengthened the credibility of the Kolkata Leather Complex in global markets.”
– Asif Iqbal, General Secretary, CLCTA
The tanners said they hope the government’s intervention will speed up the removal of encroachments and help complete long-pending infrastructure upgrades, which they believe are essential to restore the leather cluster’s competitiveness in both domestic and international markets.
