Rs 2,430-mn coir project gets approval in the 11th Plan

Kochi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which met under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister last week, has approved the Rs 243-crore coir project for implementation in the 11th Plan.

This is the highest ever Central scheme sanctioned by the Government for the coir sector, Mr A.C. Jose, Chairman of the Board, said here.

The Rs 243-crore schemes comprise two vital sectors which are at the lower-most end of the coir manufacturing pyramid — the spinning and the tiny, household segments. Around 4,000 units of the spinning segment and 3,200 units of the tiny and household segment will be covered under the scheme. The expected employment generation is 60,800 workers, of which 36,800 will be new employment and 24,000 will be existing employment, he said.

The Coir Board Chairman pointed out that more than 50 per cent of the scheme would encompass Kerala — where 85 per cent of the total coir export production and 70 per cent of the coir manufacturing facility in the country is situated.

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra, Orissa, North Eastern Region, the Andamans, and Lakshadweep are some of the other areas that will be covered under the scheme, he added.

Project scope:

The scheme envisages augmenting the machine capacity by replacing existing dilapidated machines with modern ones, or putting up modern machinery with scaled up technology for new units. These modern machines have higher capacity, is power intensive, contributing to higher volume growth and enhancing the rate of productivity. It also provides employment opportunities.

The units that will be covered under the scheme include weaving units, curled coir manufacturing unit, coir mat finishing and processing unit, coir rope manufacturing unit, coir pith block making unit, coir pith composing unit, and any other coir unit of the size of Rs 5 lakh.

Coir Board, as part of the scheme, would also help these units to go in for effective market tie-ups, so that both the raw material producers and intermediary manufacturers in the scheme get a fair market for their products, he said.