The Karnataka Textile Policy 2013-18 failed to achieve its target on investment and employment, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The policy had aimed at attracting investments worth ₹10,000 crore and creating jobs for five lakh over five years. But the shortfall was around 63 per cent for investments and 76 per cent in job creation. The CAG report on economic sector for the year ending March 2018 was tabled in the state legislature recently. The targets had been fixed without proper assessment of the potential and that it was ‘Utopian’, the report noted. Imparting of skill development training to unemployed youth was reduced from 2.96 lakh to 1.09 lakh citing inadequate budgetary support, according to media reports from the state. Six textile parks with integrated facilities planned in different areas of the state with the involvement of private sector had either remained non-starters or were far behind the schedule, the CAG document said. But ₹6.35 crore had been released to a special purpose vehicle in Kalaburagi, though it had not fulfilled the prescribed conditions. An amount of ₹84.53 crore released for implementation of various schemes had remained in the bank for period ranging from two to five years without utilisation. In another case, the department paid ₹51.89 crore to Bescom as penal interest for not clearing the bills in full, the report added.
