CETP with zero waste, mega leather cluster in Ranipet among steps to improve infrastructure, comply with environmental regulations

With a view to doubling total exports across sectors, especially the leather footwear sector, the government trained its guns to open special parks and special clusters to facilitate the landing of new investments. A Mega Leather Footwear and Accessories Cluster (MLFAC) and a Zero Solid Waste Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) are being set up in Tamil Nadu’s Ranipet district to provide plug and play infrastructure to the industry and ensure environmental compliance, according to Nidhi Kesarwani, Joint Secretary, Department of Promotion of Investment and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce.

Addressing captains of industry and the media during a meeting in Chennai on Monday, Ms Kesarwani said the proposed CETP is being built at a cost of ₹ 50 crore and is expected to become operational from December. The facility, she said, was the only one of its kind in the world that converted solid waste into salt for industrial use. She lauded the state government and industry stakeholders for adopting zero liquid discharge projects and said the Union government had sanctioned nine CETPs for industries with environment-friendly technology, eight of which were to be located in Tamil Nadu.

Under the Integrated Footwear and Leather Development Programme, the Union Government has developed four parks, one of which was the MLFAC at Panapakkam in Ranipet district of Tamil Nadu. The total cost of the project is ₹271 crore and the Union Government’s contribution is ₹125 crore.

The plug and play facility at Panapakkam is being developed as a non-leather footwear manufacturing hub and some of the world’s leading contract manufacturers, including Pou Chen and Hong Fu, have already committed to an investment of ₹15,000 crore.

Petal Dhillon, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, said the leather footwear and accessories sector received an export boost after India signed free trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Oman, United Arab Emirates, European Union and European Free Trade Association member countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), opening zero duty access to the sector. Tamil Nadu, she said, accounted for 37% of India’s exports in 2025-26, worth about $4.27 billion in total. The sector was largely MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and labor intensive and employed a large number of women. According to her, the government is trying to help this sector grow while maintaining its labor-intensive character.

Present at the meeting were Aqeel Panaruna, former chairman of the Leather Export Council; Mukhtarul Amin, Vice Chairman, CLE; M. Abdul Wahab, Regional Chairman-South, CLE; and KR Vijayan, SRC, CLE.

Published – 09 Jun 2026 05:30 IST