Surat District Collector Dr Sourabh Pardhi recently convened a high-level with key stakeholders from the diamond industry to deliberate on the implementation of the Gujarat government’s newly announced financial assistance package.
According to reports, notably absent from the table were members of the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat (DWUG), the body that has been voicing concerns over unemployment among diamond polishers for the past three years.
The financial package itself was unveiled by Minister of State for Industries Harsh Sanghavi during a press briefing in Surat on May 24.
Aimed at extending relief to both struggling diamond artisans and factory owners, the scheme encompasses several incentives.
Among these are school fee coverage of up to Rs 13,500 annually for children of unemployed diamond polishers aged 21 and above—provided they have been jobless for at least a year and had three prior years of industry experience.
In addition, unit owners who have taken term loans of up to Rs 5 lakh will see a complete waiver on the 9 percent interest for a period of three years, effective from July. Units with machinery investments worth Rs 2.5 crore, and which have shown a dip in electricity consumption over the past year, will also be eligible for a subsidy on power bills.
During the meeting, attended by representatives from the Surat Diamond Association, the District Employment Office, labour and industry department officials, and senior banking personnel, a crucial decision was made: a ‘scrutiny committee’ would be established to vet and process applications from diamond polishers and factory owners seeking to benefit from the scheme. Work has already begun on drafting detailed application forms to collect comprehensive information from both parties. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for next week to chart out further actions.
Surat Diamond Association President Jagdish Khunt, speaking to the media after the meeting, acknowledged the monumental challenge ahead. He underscored the lack of official data, stating that although Surat is home to around 3,500 diamond factories employing an estimated seven lakh artisans, these figures are mere approximations, as no formal survey has ever been conducted. He expressed skepticism about the feasibility of identifying eligible unemployed polishers under the current scheme.
According to him, implementation would be “quite difficult,” given the unorganised nature of the industry.
Khunt elaborated further, noting that over 80 percent of the city’s diamond factories operate with minimal manpower—typically between 10 and 40 workers—and most are unregistered, lacking any formal company structure. Compounding the problem is the transient nature of employment in the sector, with polishers frequently switching jobs every few months in pursuit of higher wages. Factory owners, he pointed out, seldom maintain reliable employment records of their workers.
Meanwhile, the exclusion of DWUG from the meeting did not go unnoticed. Vice-president Bhavesh Tank said that despite consistent protests and repeated submissions of memorandums to both the Surat Collector and the Chief Minister, the union was sidelined. He stated that the union had even written to the Chief Minister just days earlier, pleading for the waiver of school fees not only for the unemployed, but also for semi-unemployed polishers whose earnings have been slashed by half.
Tank added that DWUG, having been entrenched in advocacy for the workers’ rights for years, possesses detailed records of diamond polishers—data that could prove invaluable to the scrutiny committee. He lamented that had they been invited, they could have significantly contributed to the identification and verification process.
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