Non-leather footwear hub grapples with GST hike, labour shortage
Bahadurgarh, an industrial town located on the Delhi-Haryana border, has emerged as the largest centre for affordable non-leather (rexine and cloth) footwear in India but it is grappling with some major challenges, including increased goods and services tax (GST) on footwear products, steep electricity tariffs and an acute shortage of labour.
As far as footwear production is concerned, Bahadurgarh town alone accounts for over 60 per cent of the country’s production in this category. Slippers, sandals, and various types of shoes manufactured here are not only supplied across most Indian states but are also exported to regions in South Africa, Arab and other Asian countries.
Footwear in the price range of Rs 50 to Rs 1,000 is manufactured extensively in Bahadurgarh. As per local industrialists, the town hosts nearly 2,500 units—both directly and indirectly linked to the footwear sector—producing a wide variety of products including casual, formal and sports footwear. Leading brands such as Action, Relaxo, Rexona, Lancer, Aqualite, Today, Welcome, Diamond and Reshma have their established manufacturing units in Bahadurgarh.
“The GST hike—from 5 per cent to 12 per cent on footwear priced up to Rs 1,000—has severely impacted sales over the last three years. The sales have dropped by over 30 per cent and to remain in competition, some manufacturers have been compelled to avoid formal billing, hence we are persistently demanding the rollback of the GST rate to improve sales but no one is paying any heed towards the justified demand,” said Narendra Chhikara, senior vice-president of the Footwear Association, Bahadurgarh.
Sharing similar concerns, Subhash Jagga, president of the Bahadurgarh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BCCI), said the increased GST had pushed even footwear out of reach for many poor consumers following rise in its prices.
