The Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) set up in 1956 to uplift tribal people has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to achieve its annual target of Rs.252 crore during 2011-12.
The corporation, which achieved a turnover of Rs.107 crore during first half of the financial year, is expecting to have an additional business of Rs.70 crore making use of a GO issued in June to supply certain items required for government welfare hostels through GCC.
Tamarind
According to an estimate, GCC buys 30,000 quintals of tamarind from the tribal farmers. Once it supplies tamarind to the hostels the requirement will almost double for which it has set in motion efforts to increase its procurement.
Apart from tamarind, the hostels will get chilli, turmeric, ragi, brooms and salt. The corporation is buoyed by the reports of having a bumper crop of tamarind during current year.
GCC Vice-Chairman-cum-Managing Director B. Trinadha Rao told The Hindu on Wednesday that to end purchase of spurious products at shandies, they had decided to strengthen the daily requirement (DR) depots now catering to the limited needs of the tribal people in 15 districts across the State.
As part of its resolve to make GCC self-sufficient in revenue generation, the depots were being converted into mini departmental stores by motivating the salesmen and depot managers to sell more items.
“Now in some depots, one can get 25 to 100 items including dry fish, steel items and furniture.
Some of the salesmen have also become pro-active and the increase in their business will raise our revenues significantly within a year,” Mr. Rao stated.
Each tribal card holder is expected to procure items worth Rs.200 to Rs.300 additionally with the new-look depots.
White ration card
In some cases, new buildings are provided to the depots to store more items. Five lakh white ration card holders depend on depots – most of them located in remote and inaccessible areas.
The production of high-value products like honey and tamarind are being increased.
Honey production went up to two lakh kg during first four months of current year due to the special drive as against 1.2 lakh kg during last fiscal.
