A new textile committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Suresh Halwankar, BJP MLA from Ichalkaranji, a textile-town in Kolhapur district to effectively implement the textile policy.

The previous committee consisted of national and state level textile institutions, business associations and bureaucrats, the new one has only bureaucrats except Halwankar, a second time MLA.

The chief secretary of the state was the chairperson of the earlier committee who is not part of the new committee. The departments of textile, industry, power, labor and environment are associated with the textile policy. Secretaries of these departments have been retained as members of the new committee.

The government avoided directly mentioning sacking of the previous committee in the notification issued on Thursday. The new committee has assigned the same tasks as the previous committee. Halwankar's committee can invite experts as per need, says the notification issued by R S Khadse, an official at the department of cooperation, marketing and textile.

Other agencies such as the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, Maharashtra State Cooperative Spinning Mills Federation and the Maharashtra State Powerlooms Federation have no direct representation in the committee.

Halwankar’s main goal will be to seek foreign direct investment in the textile sector. The new committee will also prepare a review of the textile policy within 100 days.

In May, the textile department officials had said that private players have invested Rs 6,500 crore in the textile sector in the last couple of years.