Surat: The govt has withdrawn the recently introduced eight-hour weekly power staggering for industries, a decision that ends the requirement for scheduled power cuts on a fixed day each week. The rollback comes a week after the staggering plan was implemented and objections flooded in from industrial stakeholders across the region.Officials of Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (DGVCL) said they had received govt communication to discontinue the measure. A senior DGVCL official said, “Weekly staggering had been announced after considering multiple factors, but the latest instructions indicate it is no longer needed. As a result, DGVCL will not enforce the 4pm to midnight staggering once a week which was announced earlier.”Under the earlier plan, factories were to face power staggering from 4pm to 12 midnight on one day every week. The schedule drew criticism from several industry segments, particularly because the 4pm to midnight window is widely considered a crucial production shift for many units.The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) welcomed the move, calling it an industry-focused decision, especially ahead of the Diwali peak season. The chamber said during the festival period, when textile orders from across the country must be completed on tight timelines, the proposed power cuts posed a serious risk to delivery commitments and to the livelihoods of a large workforce. “SGCCI made an immediate and reasoned representation to the state government highlighting the potential disruption. As a result, the govt has withdrawn the power cut,” said Ashok Jirawala, president, SGCCI.Surat and the broader South Gujarat region host a dense network of textile processing houses, weaving units, diamond and lab-grown diamond businesses, as well as plastic, chemical and engineering clusters. With the staggering withdrawn, factories and mills are expected to operate at full capacity, enabling timely production, smoother market supplies and continued employment stability for workers during the high-demand season.
