Maharashtra government is planning to set up an integrated textile park, a common facility centre for handlooms and powerlooms, which would open employment avenues for nearly 5,000 weavers. The Integrated Textile Park will come up on sprawling 20 acres land of defunct Nagpur Sahakari Soot Girni (co-op spinning mills) on Nagpur-Umrer road which the state government has acquired. Besides this, the Union Textile Ministry has allocated Rs 10 crores for a Powerloom Service Centre in Nagpur.

As per Vilas Muttemwar, Nagpur MP, the government has initiated necessary formalities to table a formal proposal before a ministerial group in the state for launching the first phase, where 2,500 spindle units, 1,000 powerlooms, 300 handlooms and 50 units of readymade garments. He says, the centre is willing to extend all possible help to the weavers who are in distress, to earn livelihood. Union textile ministry has drawn up an ambitious plan and accordingly the centre has agreed to share 50 per cent financial burden of Rs 15,000 for each powerloom unit.

State textile minister Arif Nasim Khan has issued directives to the department to prepare for a ministerial group meeting in this regard within a fortnight. Further the state government was requested to provide Rs 10,000 for upgradation of each powerloom unit and efforts are on to get an approval for bank loan. Necessary proposal for powerloom weavers from Nagpur and Malegaon worth Rs 157 crores will also come up before the ministerial group, said Muttemwar, who took up the issue with the textile minister in Mumbai recently.