Despite West Asia crisis, most industries functional: Govt

Gandhinagar: The state govt said that despite the ongoing crisis in West Asia that is hampering fuel supply, the state's industrial sector continues to remain largely functional, although at a reduced capacity. Govt asserted that gas was "fully available in the state".Speaking to the media on Tuesday, additional industries commissioner K C Sampat and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation senior vice-president (commercial and marketing) Dipen Chauhan said the state govt was closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with multiple agencies to minimize disruption.Sampat said govt checked the status of over 4.11 lakh industrial units, of which 1,212 industries are currently non-operational, while around 28,517 are functioning at reduced capacity. The official added that the non-operational units are facing viability challenges arising from transportation and supply chain issues rather than fuel shortages.Commenting on the status of industrial units of the Morbi ceramic manufacturing cluster, Sampat said that gas availability is not the reason behind the closure of units. Of 2,561 ceramic units in the district, 984 are currently non-operational, and some may have shut even before the crisis began."Ceramic units in Morbi are not shut due to gas shortage. It is because of viability issues, pricing pressures and lack of export demand. It is an issue about viability, not availability," Sampat said, adding that 1,577 units are operating at reduced capacity.GSPC senior vice-president Dipen Chauhan said that industrial gas supply has not been curtailed anywhere in the state so far. "Gas is fully available. The issue is not availability but market dynamics affecting pricing and demand," he said. Chauhan said that 70% of Morbi's ceramic industry production is meant for overseas markets and disruptions in shipping routes, along with rising freight and insurance costs, have impacted operations.The GSPC official said that the Morbi industry association is expected to resume gas offtake by the end of April or early next month, even as gas supply to Morbi industries has dropped sharply from 30-35 lakh cubic metres per day before the crisis to about 4.5 lakh cubic metres now.Govt said it is in constant coordination with the Centre with regard to issues related to fuel supply, logistics and regulatory support. Priority has been accorded to sectors such as steel, automobiles, textiles, dyes, chemicals and plastics.Govt officials said there has been no disruption in supply to priority segments, such as domestic PNG and CNG, which serve around 37 lakh households and the transport sector.
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