Kitex MD Sabu Jacob alleged that his company was constantly harassed by raids and inspections in Kerala
Kitex and the Kerala Government have been at loggerheads for sometime now with the former alleging the Kerala government officials are harassing them through constant raids and inspections and that the state is not conducive to business entrepreneurs. “There have been 11 raids on the factory in the space of a month (in Kerala). It is sheer harassment. Officials from various departments such as labour, health, factory and boilers, pollution control, besides the police and the collector have conducted inspections. They come in hordes and question the workers including women and ask for their names and addresses. They didn’t find any discrepancy,” said Sabu Jacob.
Industries Minister P Rajeev denied the allegation and clarified that inspections were a result of various complaints to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Kerala High Court and other authorities against the company and not initiated by the government.
Jacob had earlier announced that he is withdrawing business plans worth 3500 crores in Kerala due to the attitude of the government. Now he has confirmed that he is joining hands with the Telangana government by investing 1000 crores to set up factories in the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park in Warangal district. The factory is expected to provide jobs for 4000 people. Many states had approached Kitex when they announced that they are looking at investing outside Kerala.
“Delighted to announce the entry of KITEX group, world’s 2nd largest manufacturer of kids apparel into Telangana with an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore. They’ve chosen KMTP, Warangal for their factories. My gratitude to Mr. Sabu M. Jacob, MD of KITEX group on a quick decision,” tweeted KT Rama Rao, state Industries and Commerce Minister of Telangana.
