Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

New scheme for leather artisans in A.P.

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD OCT. 2. A new programme called `Malupu' (turning point) aimed at upgrading the skills of 4.35 lakh leather artisans living below the poverty line was launched by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi today.

Its twin objectives is to leverage the strength of the State in production of raw hides and skins, constituting 10 per cent of India's raw material and to impact the poorest of the poor by building basic infrastructure, skill upgradation and arranging marketing of products manufactured by the artisans.

Through this programme, the public sector Leather Industries Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (LIDCAP) will establish 72 mini leather industrial parks across the State for producing raw hides and cobbling, 16 medium parks for tanning and six mega parks for finished products. Private sector participation is also envisaged in these mini parks which will cost Rs. 1.55 crores each for infrastructure development and training of artisans.

Mr. Naidu gave away certificates and tool kits to the first batch of 100 master trainers who have completed their course at the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and the Central Footwear Training Institute in Chennai. These master trainers will train a batch of 20 artisans each a month and 4.35 lakh artisans will own self-sustained and self-managed production units by October 2004.

The Chief Minister said that almost 90 per cent of the leather produced in the State was going out for processing depriving employment to the traditional leather artisans. He wanted the LIDCAP to provide the best technology and the best tool kits to artisans so that they could produce export quality footwear, car seat covers and other leather products.

The Malupu programme, he said, had a potential for producing leather goods worth Rs. 1,600 crores, fetching a revenue of at least Rs. 64 crores to the Government by way of taxes and, above all, emerging as a source of employment to the Scheduled Castes.

He made it clear to the officials that they must develop the mini parks into marketing centres. He suggested entering into collaboration with big players in the leather market who could provide training and technology and buy back the finished products. He said 7.50 lakh leather artisans would eventually be trained under the programme.

Earlier, the Minister for Employment Generation, B. Gopalakrishna Reddy, said there were 55 lakh leather artisans in the State.

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