Insurers expect Rs 1,000-cr claims in Surat

AHMEDABAD: The Surat floods have badly affected about 33,000 small and medium units engaged in manufacturing activities including spinning, weaving, printing, dyeing, agro-food processing and packaging industries in and around the city causing losses of about Rs 4,000 crore including Rs 1,000 crore towards raw materials, plants and machinery besides rendering 30 lakh persons jobless.

Insurers kept their fingers crossed as they expect claims to be in excess of Rs 1,000 crore in Surat and Hazira. “We are waiting for things to settle down. People are now busy clearing up their homes, offices and neighbourhoods and trying to find their feet.

Claims are expected to start pouring in from Sunday,” said an insurer. The natural disaster has equally affected SSI and medium sized units located in nearby towns like Navsari, Vapi, Valsad, Udhana, Sachin and Hazira.

The jobless also include about 40% people, who are dependent on ancillary units and also service sectors like transport, telecommunication, hospitality industries.

It may be recalled that in Gujarat there about 4 lakh units in the small, tiny and medium sector of which nearly 20% closed units, which did not delete their registration and are now considered to be live units. However, actual units, which are in production ranges between Rs 2.80 lakh to Rs 3 lakh units in the state.

In southern Gujarat these units are mainly engaged in textiles, jari, processed food industry and packing industry. These units generally import looms from China. Even wheat flour (atta), lentil (daal) and rice mills have been badly affected.

The losses also include raw materials, finished goods, plant, machinery, electronic gadgets like office equipment such as computers, calculators, communication systems like landline and wireless loop line (WLL) instruments, air conditioners, etc as offices were submerged in water as people tried to keep their homes.

All electronics gadgets, equipment, instruments, panel boards and switches will be required to be replaced and some of the plants and machinery imported from China will also be required to be replaced.

The federation is holding its meetings with the traders apex body Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Reserve Bank of India, convenor of state level bankers’ committee (SLBC), nationalised and co-operative banks and insurance companies. The Federation has also urged the Centre to use their good offices in directing insurance companies to constitute survey teams and to settle claims within a maximum of one week time.

The Federation also wants buyers and customers, who have made their purchases from units located in Surat, to make prompt payment against outstanding so as to enabling the affected units to resume their production as early as possible.
However, the SMEs do not want to bother the state government and instead it wants the state government not to interfere in the welfare activities undertaken by the non-government organisations (NGOs) in the flood affected areas, Patel added.