Odisha starts land bank liquidation to revitalize textile sector

The Odisha government has approved a transformative Rs 200 crore budgetary provision to settle outstanding liabilities of defunct cooperative spinning mills and powerloom units. This move aims to resolve Rs 361.67 crore in accumulated debt across several non-operational facilities formerly under the Odisha State Cooperative Spinning Mills Federation (SPINFED). By clearing long-standing financial and legal encumbrances, the administration intends to unlock approximately 261.2 acre of prime industrial land, which will be transferred to the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) for redevelopment into modern, high-output textile and apparel manufacturing clusters.

This initiative is a critical component of Odisha’s broader strategy to position itself as a premier garment production destination in eastern India, countering capacity constraints and labor volatility observed in traditional textile belts. The government’s focus is to transition from legacy, unviable cooperative models toward attracting large-scale domestic and international private investment. Early successes include recent approvals for major projects, such as a large-scale apparel facility by Nandraj Textiles, projected to generate over 10,000 jobs. Anu Garg, Chief Secretary says, this clean-up is essential to attract high-value manufacturing and ensure the long-term competitiveness of the state's textile value chain.