The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Five pilot projects to come up in Krishnagiri

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Five pilot projects to come up in Krishnagiri

Staff Reporter

Photo: Special Arrangement

Ensuring development: M.M. Tikku (third right), Consultant, Rural Business Hub, Union Ministry of Panchayat Raj, speaking at a workshop in Krishnagiri on Saturday. —

KRISHNAGIRI: Five pilot projects will come up in Krishnagiri as rural business hubs under the public-private-panchayat partnership model. Union Ministry of Panchayat Raj will fund the project, M.M. Tikku, Consultant on Rural Business Hub for the Ministry of Panchayat Raj, said at a meeting here on Saturday.

He said the pilot projects were being implemented in 35 districts in 17 states in the country involving public and private sectors.

The main objective of the project was to promote rural non-farming enterprises (RNFE) which will utilise local skills and resources and promote rural employment. It will foster mutually beneficial relationships between the producers and industrial houses; identify rural products which have potential in international and local markets, ensure value addition to the rural products and increase the level of production volume so that it becomes viable for marketing.

So far, 200 memorandum of understanding were signed in 18 States and another 20 were in the pipeline.

The first MoU under the scheme was signed in August 2005 in Uttarakhand with ITC Limited as business partner.

Proposals

Under the scheme, the Ministry of Panchayat Raj funded 48 proposals and 11 were under way. Twelve agencies were appointed in 35 districts across 17 states. In connection with this, 27 workshops had been conducted so far.

In Tamil Nadu, the Centre for Rural Development of the Periyar Maniammai University in Thanjavur was appointed as gateway agency for implementation of the project. Under this scheme, up to a maximum of Rs. 10 lakh would be funded by the ministry.

As far as Krishnagiri district was concerned, five pilot projects had been identified involving sericulture, dairy farming and vermicomposting, rural BPO, agarbatti production and floriculture.

To implement the pilot projects, a district cell had been formed.

The Collector would be the Chairperson.Collector V.K. Shanmugam presided over the workshop.

M. Sivanandam, Director, Centre for Rural Development, Periyar Maniammai University, Thanjavur, participated.

Panchayat Union Chairmen, Block Development Officers and Assistant Block Development Officers attended the workshop.

G. Saraswathy, Project Officer, Mahalir Thittam proposed a vote of thanks.

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