State govt invites protesting MSMEs associations for talks on Tuesday

CHENNAI: The state government has invited the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) associations for talks on Tuesday as the manufacturing units across the State closed their shutters on Monday to draw attention to the issues concerning electricity tariff hikes.

The one-day statewide token strike by the industrialists caused job loss to 80 lakh workers and resulted in production loss amounting to Rs.9,000 crore and Rs.2,500 crore as loss of revenue to the government. Around eight lakh MSME units remained shut across the state, according to the MSMEs association.

Minister for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), TM Anbarasan said the Tamil Nadu Industrial Electricity Consumers' Federation (TNIECF), an umbrella organisation of over 250 industrial bodies in the state.

K Baskaran, Secretary of the Kakkalur Industrial Estate Manufacturers' Association and a member of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Electricity Consumers' Federation (TNIECF) said that representatives of the MSMEs association would take part in the meeting to find a solution to their demand.

The MSMEs have been demanding the government to reduce the fixed charges which have been increased by 440 per cent, scrapping of peak hour charges and network charges for rooftop solar power generation and stop revision of electricity tariff for the next two years.

J. James, coordinator of the TNIECF, who took part in the hunger strike in Madurai said that they were forced to go on a strike as the government did not address their grievance on electricity tariff for over a year and the chief minister's announcement did not address their main demand.

"If the government does not respond to this hunger strike, business entrepreneurs in all districts will wear black badges and meet the district collectors on October 9. If the demands were not met, then members of all federations of trade and industry would go on hunger strike in Chennai on October 16," he announced.