Bengaluru: The State Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to establish a mega silk cluster near Yelwal.

In a communication, released by District in-Charge and Higher Education Minister G.T. Devegowda, the cluster will be developed by the State as well as the Union Government at a cost of Rs.49 crore. The new cluster will be a boon for the region to expand the silk market and also to create job opportunities.

The silk clusters in Mysuru will be one of the six silk clusters to be set up across the country under the revised National Handloom Development Programme. The proposed mega textile cluster will come up near Hootagalli on the outskirts of the city.

The move was mooted in the Union Budget 2014-15 and the project will receive Rs.50 crore by way of Central Grant and 10.12 acres of land has been identified to set up the cluster at Belawadi. The land will be handed on lease to Chamundeshwari Mega Silk Cluster. Now that the Cabinet has cleared the silk cluster proposal, it has to be ratified in the Assembly.

Once launched, it would be among the first of the five industry-specific clusters sanctioned for Mysuru.

Being a labour-intensive industry, the launch of textile cluster is expected to help generate additional employment in the region, besides fuelling local economy by spanning ancillary industries to support the cluster.

Mysuru and its surrounding regions are known for sericulture, and the famed Mysore Silk has been accorded the Geographic Indication tag in view of its uniqueness. Similarly, the area is renowned for cotton.

Though cultivated extensively in H.D. Kote region, the bulk of it is supplied to textile units in Tamil Nadu. But once the textile cluster takes shape, local farmers will have a market closer home which will be beneficial to them as it will obviate the need for transportation.