The cotton industry will get its “white gold” tag soon in Maharashtra. The state government is formulating a special policy to integrate six distressed districts of Vidarbha known for cotton crop.  The policy intends to address problems of farmers in the country’s largest cotton growing belt across Nagpur, Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Yavatmal, Washim and Wardha.

As part of the farm-to-fashion drive, the state government will spend Rs 2,000 crore in the region. Vidarbha is one of the largest cotton growing region of India and contributes 30 per cent of the crop. In the 2016-17 budget, the state government plans to set aside special allocation to promote cotton based industries in Vidarbha and also address its socio-economic problems.

Under the plan all cotton related small and medium scale industries would be promoted in the region including maximum cotton spinning mills in Akola, Buldhana, Yavatmal, Washim. The state government intends to promote the textile sector through public-private-partnership.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the officials to expedite work to transform Amravati district as the international textile hub of country. The detailed plan includes integrating three nodal departments of textile, finance and agriculture to work towards attaining the target of the ambitious project.

The government’s primary concern is to provide basic infrastructure so as to make industries more conducive. In the pilot project, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation will facilitate by providing land for the textile sector in Amravati, the second biggest city after Nagpur in Vidarbha.

At Nandgaon, 500 hectares of land has been approved for the textile hub which has received proposal from eight players. The work has already started.

According to the ministry of cooperation and marketing, the process of cotton procurement with outlets in cities including Nagpur and Aurangabad is under progress. The target of 100 lakh quintal is higher than last season’s 27 lakh quintal. The Maharashtra State Co-Operative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation (MSCCGMF) has procured around 39641 quintals till now.

A value added chain to integrate farmers with the textile industry is lacking but much necessary. GoM had been pushing hard to seek higher minimum support price from the centre for cotton, the centre has, however, fixed MSP at Rs 4,100 per quintal.