Linkages of Large Scale, Small Scale and Informal Sector Industries A Study of Thana-Belapur Annapurna Shaw This paper attempts to analyse the interactions and linkages between the large scale, small scale and informal sectors in an important industrial region in India with a view to highlighting the complex interdependencies among them. The sample studied by the author comprises eight large scale units, eight small scale units and twenty informal sector units. I NTRODUCTION SEVERAL aggregate level studies have been done on the growth and spatial spread of industrialisation in India (Karan, 1964; Kundu and Raza, 1982; Naidu, 1988; Dholakia, 1989; Mohan, 1989). Most such studies have been based on census data on the characteristics of the work force and/or establishments at the state or district level. These census data based studies have been helpful in outlining broad patterns of industrial growth and spread across India since 1947. They have revealed the unequal nature of post-independence industrial growth which has increased the advantages of large metropolitan areas and some politically favoured states (Dholakia, 1989). Some recent studies (Eapen, 1984; Mohan, 1989) have also noted the strong growth in non-household industry in both urban and non-urban areas which seems to indicate that some amount of industrial dispersion is occurring. Based on aggregate data for the sixties and the seventies, Kundu and Raza (1982) have observed a newly emerging pat- tern of industrialisation in modern India. The pattern is the following: (a) There is the 'agglomerated pattern* of industrialisation which is mainly large-city based and is characterised by capital- intensive and large scale manufacturing. The six industrial cores displaying this pattern are the Calcutta conurbation. Madras-Bangalore conurbation, western Maharashtra, the Delhi metropolitan area, Jamshedpur-Dhanbad-Bokaro complex in Bihar and the Ludhiana-Jullundhar complex in the Punjab. All six cores are islands in the sense that they are surrounded by regions of low or very low levels of agglomerated in- dustrialisation. (b) There is the 'dispersed pattern' of in- dustrialisation which implies smaller and less capital intensive establishments. They are more evenly spread throughout the coun- try covering thirteen regions and are primarily rural and small town based. The above dichotomisation is a simple and effective way of understanding the nature of industrial spread in modern India. However, it tends to hide many of the com- plexities of the process and the conflicts that such a process can generate. India's in- dustrial structure at the micro-level, is far more complex than the terms 'agglomerated' and 'dispersed' imply. In addition to the large scale capital intensive industrial unit which is the key feature of the core areas of agglomerated industrialisation, there is the small scale industries (SSI) sector and the unregistered, and even smaller in scale, in- formal sector. In most core areas, large scale, small scale and informal sectors operate simultaneously, often in close geographical proximity. They are representative of dif- ferent interest groups and very often, in opting for particular industrial strategies, these interests come into conflict. The in- teractions and linkages between the three sectors, their conflicts and resolutions, significantly affect the pace and form of industrial growth. The purpose of this study is to analyse the interactions and linkages between the large scale, small scale and informal sectors in a micro region located within a so-called 'core' industrial area. This is the trans-Thana Creek industrial belt in Maharashtra. It is a part of the Bombay metropolitan region. BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE REGION The trans-Thana Creek industrial belt lies west of the Thana creek between the urban centres of Thana and Belapur. It is approx- imately sixteen kilometres in length and in the east is flanked by the Mumbra-Parsik hills. The land slopes westwards into the Thana creek; soils are poor and the natural vegetation is one of scrub grassland. Industrial development in this area began in a big way after 1962 when the Maharashtra Industrial Development Cor- poration (MIDC) was established. MIDC is a state-run institution to assist industrial development particularly in the more underdeveloped parts of Maharashtra. M IDC's role is to develop selected areas for industry by providing basic infrastructure such as roads, water, power and drainage and even sheds and galas. The land developed by MIDC is then leased to industries. Land is initially acquired by the government under the MIDC Act of 1961 and placed at the disposal of the MIDC. In the trans-Thana region including the urban centre of Kalwa, as of 1987,2388.31 hectares had come under the possession of MIDC. A total of 3000 families had been displaced by the MIDC purchase of this land (MIDC, 1987). The villagers had subsisted on paddy cultivation, salt-making and fishing. The industrial estate that MIDC created out of this formerly agricultural land was possible only after considerable levelling of the land and the construction of suitable roads and water supplies. The latter was achieved through the construction of the Patalganga- Barvi projects and the erection of reservoirs on the hills to the south end of the area (Ismail, 1975). MIDC divided the area into major land use categories and then into industrial plots. As of 1987, of the total area in possession by MIDC in the trans-Thana Creek region, IIII.II hectares or 46.5 per cent of the total had been carved out into plots (MIDC, 1987). The plots vary in size from the very large which exceed 1,00,000 sq metres to those occupied by small scale industries which can be less than 100 sq metres. The growing importance of the region as an extension of Greater Bombay can be seen in the rapidly increasing value of the land. In the sixties, land was valued at Rs 3-8 per sq ft. In 1975, it was Rs 40 per sq ft (Ismail, 1975). and as of October 1985, it was Rs 200 per sq meter (MIDC), 1987, p 7). Nevertheless, such prices are still con- sidered cheap in relation to land prices on the Bombay island and suburbs. In terms of industrial composition, the trans-Thana belt is dominated by petro- chemicals and engineering units. By 1974, basic petrochemical intermediates accounted for 29 per cent of space use, products of petrochemical and other chemials 34.7 per cent, machinery about 14.6 per cent, metal products 12.5 per cent and electrical goods 7.5 per cent (Ismail, 1975). This tendency continues to be re-enforced as new plots are carved out and come into active use. Of the 95 plots allotted in the area during 1986-87, 62, i e, 65 per cent went to engineering units and 26 or 27 per cent went to chemical units (MIDC, 1987, p 84). Spatially, some amount of clustering by type of industrial product is noticeable. In the north, between Kalwa and Itawa, are mostly light machinery and machine- building units. Further south in Digha, Iravli and Rabala are the electrical units. Beyond Ghotivli and Koppar and around Gansol is a major intermediate organic and chemical Economic and Political Weekly February 17-24 1990 M-17