Textile Commissioner’s office shifted to Delhi from Mumbai

After several important government and semi-government departments, the office of the Textile Commissioner is being moved from Mumbai to New Delhi.

The textile industry boom in 1854 had made Mumbai a major industrial and business hub in the country.

The office of the Textile Commissioner was established in 1943 during the Second World War, with the objective of arranging and overseeing supply of cloth to the defence forces as well as civilian population.

The Office of the Textile Commissioner now advises the government on important aspects of the textile industry.

This has invited severe criticism from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi which accused the BJP of centralising the power in the national capital.

The office of the Textile Commissioner is located at Nishtha Bhavan, New CGO Building, 48, Vitthaldas Thackersey Marg off the New Marine Lines in Mumbai.

In an official communication to Textile Commissioner Roop Rashi, Ministry of Textile’s Under Secretary Jayashree Sivakumar, the decision of the shifting of the office was conveyed.

The 14 March order stated - “I am directed to inform you that it has been decided with the approval of the competent authority to restructure the office of Textile Commissioner and Textile Committee (in order to enhance effectiveness and achieve optimal use of resources. This restructuring exercise would involve shifting textile commissioner and few key officials to the Ministry of Textiles (MoT) to strengthen the technical arm of the ministry, deployment/deputation of officers/staff from head office and field office to TC head office and field offices.”

The MVA has reacted sharply to the development.

Senior NCP leader and former state minister Dr Jitendra Awhad tweeted a copy of the letter and said: “The office of Textile Commissioner was set up in Mumbai in 1943 and now being shifted to New Delhi by the Centre citing restructuring process All major units are being shifted out of Mumbai.”

Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said: “There is a constant move to reduce the importance of Mumbai. Is it not anti-Maharashtra…in fact, Maharashtra is the economic engine of India.”

Shiv Sena-UBT spokesperson and farmers leader wanted to know as to why the BJP ministers from Maharashtra are silent on the issue. “Why Nitin Gadkari, Narayan Rane, Piyush Goyal, Raosaheb Patil-Danve, Bharati Pawar, Kapil Patil and Bhagwat Karad and Ramdas Athawale are silent on the issue,” he said.

The Textile Commissioner’s office has 8 regional offices located at Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Navi Mumbai, Calcutta, Coimbatore, Kanpur, Chennai & Noida (Delhi). Besides there are 15 Powerloom Service Centres located at Amritsar, Nagari, Burhanpur, Cuttack, Erode, Kishangarh, Gaya, Malegaon, Mau, Ranaghat, Surat, Kannur & Jammu, Umergaon, Hyderabad.